Never Thought I'd Fall For You
by Anna Louisa
Summary: It's Scorpius, Rose, and Albus's fifth year, and Rose is determined to pass her OWLs. A certain blond-haired prat has other ideas, and what starts out as a full-fledged prank war turns into detention, which turns into something neither of them ever imagined. Rating because it's for fun, not more serious.
1. Chapter 1

**HEEEEEYYYY! To all my amazing readers, I'm BAAAACKK! This is the Rose/Scorpius story I'd talked about back when I was finishing up The Years Between back in June. I announced at the end of that I was going to retire for awhile, and take the summer off. Well, that was a lie. I wrote the first 12 chapters of this story over the summer, and I am finally able to publish it. I'm hoping for updates each weekend, depending on how things go. But yeah. So basically, this is Rose and Scorpius's fifth year at Hogwarts. They've fought their way through the first four years. I'm pretty proud of it, so please let me know what you all think!**

**One more thing: I own ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Except the storyline, I guess, but it's a bit overused. **

**Chapter One: Back to Hogwarts**

"Bye, Mum!" Rose Weasley called, leaning out the window as far as she could. "Bye, Dad!" Next to her, her younger brother Hugo waved also. Their mother, Hermione Weasley, raised her tear stained handkerchief in farewell. Their father, Ron Weasley, waved furiously back at them, his arm around their mother. Hugo rolled his brown eyes, but Rose didn't mind. At least their parents loved each other.

"Bye, Mum! See you, Dad!" Rose's cousin, Albus, hollered in her ear. Rose winced and hit him on the shoulder. "Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?"

"For puncturing my eardrum," she retorted as their parents faded from view.

"I did not puncture your eardrum," Albus snapped, rolling his eyes. "There'd be blood flowing from your ears and you'd be screaming in pain by now."

"Oh, will you two shut it? We aren't even at Hogwarts yet," Lily, Albus's younger sister, moaned. "You're as bad as Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione."

"No we're not," Rose and Hugo said together. "Trust us." Lily just shook her head.

"Oh, come on, you lot, let's find a carriage," Molly complained. Her younger sister Lucy nodded, so Rose, Hugo, Lily, Albus, James, Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, Fred, Dominique, and Louis (all Weasleys except for Lily, Albus, and James) made their way down the train to the very last compartment.

Due to lack of space, the Hogwarts Express compartments had been magically enlarged to fit about 10 people. Even though there were 11 of them, all the Weasley and Potter children crammed themselves into one compartment. Once they'd all settled, Molly turned to her favorite cousin, Dominique Weasley.

"How bad are the O.W.L's, Dom? Dad said they're terrible, but Mum said they're quite easy if you study enough. But I figured I'd ask you, since Mum and Dad haven't taken O.W.L's since they were fifteen." Rose rolled her bright blue eyes.

"And we all know how long ago that was," Hugo added softly. Rose kicked him as the rest of their compartment burst out laughing.

"Hugo!" Rose reprimanded her brother. "You shouldn't say such things about Mum and Dad! They're wonderful parents, after all, and that's what counts!" Hugo just shook his head, sending his shaggy red hair flying, a smile on his face.

"Anyway, Rose," Dominique intervened hastily, "I know that you, at least, will study hard for them. I can't see you having any trouble passing them. I don't know why people complain so much, they aren't as terrible as everyone says. Don't worry. With your intellect, I highly doubt anyone will top you," she praised her cousin, smiling at her, chocolate eyes sparkling.

"Oh, there might be a Ravenclaw who can top me," Rose argued. "I'm a Gryffindor, and we're supposed to be brave and noble, not wise and good at school."

"Remember your mother, though, Rose," Lily interjected, flipping back her auburn hair. "On her Chocolate Frog card it describes her as 'The Brightest Witch of Her Age', but she was a Gryffindor, too."

"I know," Rose sighed, brushing her long, curly red hair over one shoulder. "But I'm still nervous for them."

"For the last time, Rose," Albus sighed, running his fingers through his jet-black hair. "Stop worrying. If anything, you ought to be concerned for me," he told her earnestly, though his green eyes were laughing. Rose giggled and played along.

"And why should I be worried about _you_, of all people?" she asked, her clear blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Because I'll be the one kicked out for not passing my O.W.L's," Albus said very seriously. Hugo bit his lip to keep from laughing, and Dominique smiled as she tucked a lock of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear.

"Of course," Rose replied without missing a beat, "Right after I become the next great prankster." The thought of Prefect Rose Weasley becoming a prankster sent everyone to the floor laughing, even Rose herself. When everyone had finally regained control of their laughter, the lunch cart rattled to a stop outside their compartment.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" inquired the woman with short gray hair. Rose, Albus, and Roxanne all jumped up and went out into the corridor.

"Two Chocolate Frog packages and a Cauldron Cake," Albus requested, digging in his pockets and handing the woman seven Sickles. Roxanne got a couple of Pumpkin Pasties, and then it was Rose's turn.

"I'd like a bag of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans and a Chocolate Frog, please," she asked, smiling at the lady. As Rose handed over her gold and the woman retrieved the candy, a voice came from behind Rose.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Suck-Up Weasley," drawled Scorpius Malfoy. Rose clenched her fists. If she had to make a list of the Most Annoying People at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy would be on the top of that list.

"Scorpion," she replied.

"Oi!" he objected, and she grinned with triumph. "Geez, Weasley, you have to always put me down?" Rose rolled her eyes, still refusing to turn around.

"Yes, I do," she stated matter-of-factly, taking her purchases from the trolley woman with a word of thanks.

"Why? You're nice to her," Scorpius pointed out. Rose sighed.

"Because she's nice to me, whereas you, Malfoy, are the most annoying person on the planet!" she declared.

"I don't know about that, Weaselbee. I think you're more annoying," Scorpius protested from behind her.

"Right and you're Merlin," she snapped back, trying to open the door of the compartment one-handed.

"Maybe not, but I am as powerful-and as good looking," he added, and she could visualize his wink as she finally managed to get the door open.

"Just go away, Malfoy, alright?" she snapped, and then slammed the door in his face before he could argue. As she slammed the door shut, she saw him make a face at her before stalking off.

"What was that all about?" Lucy asked, her gray eyes cautious as Rose plopped back down in her seat, scowling.

"The most annoying person on the planet came to pay us a visit again," Rose replied, rolling her eyes and biting into her Chocolate Frog with more force than was really needed. "I swear the guy lives to annoy me."

"You never know, Rose," James said, his brown eyes serious. "Maybe he does." Rose stuck her tongue out at him, and her family laughed.

Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy had been enemies since their first year. It had started out in academics, strangely enough. Once, Professor Longbottom, tired of Rose always knowing the answer, had asked for someone else to answer his question. And much to Rose's disgust, a blond Ravenclaw named Scorpius Malfoy had put up his hand and answered the question correctly. When Professor Longbottom wasn't looking, he smirked at her. Rose was infuriated, and from then on, things only escalated.

The two of them competed in everything. Best grades in class, House points, and (when they were old enough) at Quidditch. Rose had one-upped Scorpius last year when she'd caught the Snitch during the Quidditch final, securing a win for Gryffindor. Scorpius's dislike of her had only increased, it seemed. Not that Rose minded. She didn't like him anyway, that cocky Ravenclaw who thought he knew everything.

"Oi, Rosie! You paying attention?"

Hugo's voice cut through Rose's preoccupation. She snapped back into reality.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, and her cousins all snickered.

"James just finished a rant about what an arrogant pig Malfoy is," Fred informed her, a smile twitching at the edge of his face as he ruffled his red hair. Rose sat up straight and nodded in agreement.

"He absolutely is. I don't see what's so special about him. He's such a prat," Rose added in a self-satisfied tone. Dominique raised her eyebrows at Lily, who nodded in agreement, her hazel eyes laughing. Dominique smiled slightly and pulled out a book.

"Come on everyone, let's play Exploding Snap," James suggested. Everyone but Dominique agreed to join in, and by the time they arrived at Hogwarts, Albus had been declared Exploding Snap Champion, Lucy had been declared Biggest Loser, and Dominique had read three more chapters of her book. The Weasleys and Potters packed up all their stuff, making sure trunks were fastened and pets safely in their cage. Then they followed the crowd out onto the platform at Hogsmeade Station. As the frightened-looking first years followed an aged Hagrid down to the lake, Hugo, Louis, Rose, and Dominique made straight for a carriage, shivering slightly in the night air.

"How's your book, Dom?" Rose asked once everyone had gotten inside and the carriage had started to move forward.

"Oh, it's wonderful," Dominique gushed, her brown eyes shining. "It's about a mother-daughter book club, and it relates to me so much, even though it takes place in the Muggle world!"

"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Rose sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together under her chin. "Do tell!" And Dominique launched into a thorough explanation of the series. Louis and Hugo stared at each other, then began to talk about the Chudley Cannon's chances of winning against the Kenmare Kestrels.

The ride to the castle passed quickly, and in next to no time, the four cousins were leaping down from their carriage and hurrying out of the chilly night air into the entrance hall. Rose caught her breath as she entered, seeing the grand marble staircase and moving portraits. She loved Hogwarts, and was ever so excited to be back for her fifth year, even if that did mean O.W.L.'s and tough studying.

"Come on, Rosie!" Albus called from the other side of the hall. Rose gave a jolt and followed her cousins through another set of doors into the Great Hall.

The navy blue night sky sparkled with a thousand tiny, silver stars. Below, the four wooden tables were in perfect align, with the staff table up at the top of the hall, just as it always had been. Rose took her place at the Gryffindor table, smiling and waving to fellow fifth years across the Hall as she did so.

"I hope the first years hurry up," Fred complained loudly, massaging his stomach. "I'm starving!"

"Pig," Roxanne replied gently, poking him in the back to make him sit up. "They'll be here in a moment!" No sooner had she finished speaking than the door to the hall opened, and a group of pale-looking first years filed into the hall and stood in front of the staff table. Little Professor Flitwick dragged in the stool and placed a old, ragged hat atop it. For a split second, there was silence, and then the Hat broke into song.

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see._

_I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me._

_Oh, you can keep your bowlers black, your top hats sleek and tall._

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, and I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your heard the Sorting Hat can't see._

_So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart._

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart._

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal._

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil._

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw_

_If you've a ready mind_

_Where those of wit and learning_

_Will always find their kind._

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll meet your real friends._

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on!_

_Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The Hat finished its song and bowed to all four tables as Professor Flitwick pulled out a long scroll.

"When I call your name, please come forward and try on the Hat before you join your House," he squeaked. Rose and her cousins all watched, slightly disinterested, as he called the first name.

"Abringiman, Elizabeth!" A blond girl slowly walked out of line and to the Hat. She sat down, trembling. There was a moment's silence before-

"Ravenclaw!" the Hat called, and Elizabeth hurried off to join her sister at the Ravenclaw table. Rose zoned out for the majority of the Sorting(it really wasn't that interesting). She did come to in time to hear the last person called, however.

"Zabini, Marcus!"

"Slytherin!" the Hat shrieked, and Blaise Zabini's son swaggered off to join his older brothers. The Headmistress, Professor Cabot, had gotten to her feet.

"Welcome, welcome all, to another year at Hogwarts," she declared, beaming at the students. Rose caught James's eye and they both rolled their eyes simultaneously. The Headmistress was a very kind woman, but she had a tendency to treat all the students like five year olds.

"Before I trouble you with any announcements, I would like to invite you all to join in our Welcome Feast!" Professor Cabot concluded, and all of the male Potters and Weasleys cheered. Lily shook her head, and Rose rolled her eyes again. Through the crowd, she caught a glimpse of Dominique over at the Ravenclaw table. She was laughing at the lack of maturity the Potter and Weasley males displayed. Why, Rose didn't know. This was, after all, quite a common occurrence.

"Look!" Hugo gasped, lunging for the roast beef, "Food!"

"Merlin's beard, Hugo!" Rose exclaimed as he knocked over a jar of peppermint humbugs. "Have you no manners?" He grinned back at her, mouth full of food.

"Nope."

"Obviously," she retorted as Albus and Fred laughed.

"Lighten up, Rosie, and help yourself to some food," James chided, shoving a plate of ham toward her. Rose accepted it gracefully, and talk moved on.

"I think Dom might finally complete her goal of trying to read the entire library this year," Roxanne commented, her eyes on their cousin. Rose shrugged.

"It's possible, I guess. She's made it through at least three-quarters, and it's her last year here. I wouldn't put it past her," Rose sighed. "She makes me look like such an underachiever."

"An underachiever with the best grades of the year," Fred pointed out. Rose blushed, but smiled all the same.

"Ah, Rosie, don't fret. I'm sure you will fail your O.W.L's and have to stay behind an extra two years at Hogwarts just so you can get 'Outstanding' in all of them instead of 'Exceeds Expectations'," James said, his face perfectly straight. Everyone who'd heard him burst out laughing, and Rose was no exception.

"I wouldn't go that far, Potter," she chuckled, sipping her pumpkin juice. "Maybe just one extra year." Everyone laughed again, but not much more was said after that, for the desserts had appeared, and no one at Hogwarts could resist the elves' newfound recipe of pumpkin pie.

When at last the feast faded from the golden plates, the Headmistress got to her feet once more to address the Hall.

"I simply have a few start-of-term notices to give out," she informed the Hall. "Firstly, I must remind you that fifth years are taking their O.W.L's this year. No need to fret, I'm sure your teachers will help you be prepared. Quidditch tryouts for all Houses will be held this weekend. Anyone who wishes to play should ask their Team Captain when tryouts are. Well, I think that's all. Off to bed with you!"

Everyone in the Hall stands with a great scraping of chairs. Rose darted forward quickly to shepherd the first years out of the Hall and up the staircase. Thankfully, they made it to the marble staircase before any trouble started.

"Suck-Up Weasley," called a voice from right behind Rose. She gritted her teeth. Not him again!

"Piss off, Scorpion," she growled.

"Watch your language, Rosie," he chuckled pushing in front of her on his way to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Right and you're one to talk. Need I remind you of the incident last year?" she smirked at him, and he blushed, but the crowd swept him away before he could respond. Rose did a mental happy dance before turning back to the first years.

"Right this way, come on now, no need to be afraid!" They all followed her meekly up staircases, through doors, and down long corridors before finally arriving at Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady raised her head as they approached.

"Password?" she inquired of Rose.

"Unexpected," she replied smartly.

"Correct," the portrait said, and swung forward to admit the group. Rose climbed through last and stood in front of the first years.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Tower," she announced. "This is your home while you are in Hogwarts. Boys' dormitories are upstairs to your right, girls to your left. I suggest you all hurry to bed, because it's the first day of classes tomorrow, and believe me, you want to be awake for that." The first years quickly hurried off, and after making sure they all went the right way, Rose headed to her own dorm. None of the other girls were there yet, so Rose undressed quickly and got into her four poster.

She was fast asleep before her head hit the pillow. Who knew arguing with Scorpius Malfoy could be so tiring?

**Sorry about the song - I tried to come up with something better, and it didn't work out. Anyways, please humor me and leave me a review? It would mean a lot! I'd give you a new chapter if you did! :)**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Guys, I'm back! Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I'm afraid I'm rather short on time, so I can't make this long, but you've all been so wonderful to me! I'm glad you like it! Quick reminder: They are in FIFTH year!**

**Chapter 2: Back In Sync Of Things**

"Rose! Get up!"

Molly Weasley II's voice rang loud and clear through the empty dorm. Rose sat bolt upright, her eyes flying open.

"Wha-Molly, what the hell? What time is it?" Rose moaned, rubbing her eyes as she realized the dorm was empty again.

"We have a half hour until classes start, and luckily for you, we've got Charms first," Molly reported to her cousin.

"Are you sure? Merlin, I've got to get moving." Rose leaped out of bed and began casting about for her robes. Molly lounged on her bed, reading a book, as Rose made her own bed, brushed her teeth, got dressed, combed her hair, and gathered all her books. As a matter of fact, Rose was about to go down to the Common Room when she remembered her cousin.

"Molly, are you coming?" Rose asked, looking back at her cousin. Molly jumped, then quickly placed a bookmark in her book.

"Of course! We need to get some breakfast in any case," she pointed out, and the two redheads descended down the staircase together.

"So what do you think Hemingway's going to teach us this year?" Roxanne asked once Rose and Molly had taken their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Well, I don't know. We aren't in your year, Roxanne, so I couldn't tell you," Rose replied. Roxanne smacked herself on the forehead.

"Right! I get so used to hanging out with you all during the summer that I forget we aren't in the same year at Hogwarts! Besides, Rose, you've got the intelligence to rival all the Ravenclaws," she added, winking at her cousin. Rose flushed.

"I think we went over this last night," she replied in a dignified voice, helping herself to a cinnamon roll.

"We did, and I'm right sick of it, so can you please move on?" Lily snapped, dropping into a seat next to Molly.

"What's wrong?" Molly asked instantly, closing her book and turning to her cousin. Like her grandmother, Molly had a very caring and kind nature.

"It's...sort of that time," Lily admitted, her face turning as red as her hair. Rose laughed.

"Oh, poor you. I got lucky, had mine the week before we came to Hogwarts. Dad and Hugo weren't in the house much," she reminisced, a gleam in her eye.

"Good choice on their part," Roxanne muttered. "You can be downright scary when you want to, Rose Weasley."

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," Rose replied sarcastically. Then her face turned thoughtful. "But do you know, I've had others say that to me as well...even some Hufflepuff I didn't know. It seems I have that effect on everyone. Well," she sighed as a blond-haired figure sauntered into the Hall, "Everyone except the Scorpion." Roxanne, Lily, and Molly all turned around to watch him take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. He spotted them and made a face. Rose stuck out her tongue in retaliation, then turned her attention back to her cousins.

"I still don't know why you hate him so much, Rosie," James commented, looking up from his plate. "He's an okay kid."

"No, he's not," Rose retorted. "He's an arrogant prat who enjoys nothing better than annoying the hell out of me. Plus, he thinks he knows everything," she added in disgust, causing every single one of her cousins and Hugo to laugh.

"What?" she asked, nonplussed, but it took a while for them to stop laughing. Hugo finally wiped tears from his eyes and answered her.

"Right, and we know no one like him at all," he choked out. Rose's mouth dropped open.

"I am not like him!" she shot back. "I at least have manners!" She nodded her head at the Ravenclaw table, where Scorpius was laughing with his mouth wide open. James, Albus, Hugo, and Fred all shrugged, but Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, and Lily winced.

"He's disgusting," Lucy muttered, turning her eyes away from him. Rose opened her mouth to agree, but at that moment, Professor Hagrid, Head of Gryffindor House, appeared next to them all with their new schedules.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite group o' students," he declared proudly, and all nine of them blushed. "Course it is. Yeh all are getting too smart for me," he muttered, sifting through the huge stack of parchment he was holding. "What with yer O. comin' up this year and all." He gave a huge grunt.

"Do you need some help, Hagrid?" Lily asked. He shook his great, shaggy head.

"I'll be fine, but thank you, darlin'. Now, where's that Beautiful Rose?" he asked, peering up and down the table. Rose giggled but held up her hand all the same. "Ah, there she is. My goodness, yeh've gotten even prettier than the last time I saw yeh. You better watch out for her," he stage-whispered to Hugo. "She'll be a heartbreaker if she ever decides to look at a lad." Rose and Hugo both turned bright red.

"Hagrid!" Rose protested as he handed her her schedule. He simply winked and made his way through the rest of the family: Jolly James, Amazing Albus, Lovely Lily, Hard-Working Hugo (everyone snorted at this), Fabulous Fred, Ravishing Roxanne, Motherly Molly, and Little Lucy. The nine of them all pretended to be embarrassed by his pet names for them, but secretly, they were all pleased. Rose particularly liked being called beautiful. Her mother and father often told her she was pretty, as did her cousins, but she really never felt that way. Hearing Hagrid call her pretty was different, though. Hagrid was a lovable grandfather-like figure to her, and she simply loved him. She loved him and his pet names a little less as she set off for Charms, however.

"Oi! Weaselbee!"

Rose gritted her teeth. There was only one person in this entire school that would call her Weaselbee, and he was the person she didn't want to see.

"What, Scorpion?" she hissed, wheeling to face him. He wore the trademark Malfoy smirk, the one she hated more than anything.

"Beautiful Rose, eh?" he asked, and she felt her face burn.

"Buzz off, Malfoy!" she snapped back. He didn't move, and neither did she.

"Too bad he can't think up pet names for the rest of us, eh? I'd obviously be Sexy Scorpius, and-" Rose lost her temper.

"Oh for the love of Merlin, Malfoy!" she shrieked. "Will you just leave me alone for one day? Your goal in life is to piss me off, isn't it? Well, I can tell you this, Scorpion-" she got right in his face to ensure he got the message, "-I can think of a perfect adjective starting with 's' that describes you perfectly." His gray eyes widened as he realized what she meant.

"That's low, Weasley," he growled.

"Not as low as you teasing me about a name my dear friend gave to me," she retorted.

"Dear friend? Him? Ah, come on, Rose, is that the best you can do?" he taunted. Rose saw red.

"Don't you dare insult him, Malfoy!" she yelled. "He's a better person than you've ever been!" And with that, she turned on her heel and stomped away. Even through her anger, the shouts of laughter from Scorpius and his friends followed her all the way down the passage to Charms.

"_There_ you are, I was-Merlin's beard, Rose, what happened to you?" Molly gasped as Rose slammed her things down on the table and took a seat, trembling.

"That-little-piece of-caught up to me-insulted Hagrid-going to kill him!" Rose sputtered, but Molly understood.

"Rose, don't let him get to you, that's what he wants!" she urged, pulling out a tissue and handing it to Rose, who was so angry she was almost crying.

"Why me?" she asked, swiping at her eyes. "He could pick on any other girl in school, and he has to pick on me!" Molly simply shook her head and patted her cousin's back. Albus, however, leaned forward to address her.

"Rose, I think it's more a personality conflict. You and Scorpius are so much alike you can't help but argue." Both Weasley girls stared at him.

"Albus Severus Potter, that made _no _sense," Rose finally said. "I'm not at all like him!"

"Sure you are," Albus protested. "You've both got a great sense of humor, and you're both sarcastic. You both are really good in school, and you're both loyal to your families. You both play Quidditch, and you love to be top at everything. And I don't know if this counts, but I'll add it anyway-you're really good at annoying each other," he finished, winking at her. Rose just sighed as Professor Hemingway entered the classroom and began to teach. Albus was wrong, she decided. She and the Scorpion had nothing in common. Nothing whatsoever.

After Charms, Rose's classes passed seemingly quickly. Potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Before she knew it, she was sitting down to lunch in the Great Hall with Molly.

"Can you believe how much homework we have?" Molly moaned, ladling stew onto her plate. Rose shook her head.

"It's O.W.L year, Molly, what did you expect?" she asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Us to be studying frantically but with no homework whatsoever?" Molly suggested, shrugging her shoulders. Roxanne, who'd been listening to the whole conversation, laughed.

"No, that's not until the end of the year. April, May, that's when that sets in," she told them. Molly gulped nervously and Rose paled.

"Oh, don't scare them, Roxie," James chided, turning to listen also. "They've got to be the two smartest kids in the school. I mean, Rose is Hermione's daughter, and we all know how smart Hermione is. And Molly's Percy's daughter. I'm sure they'll both do fine. Probably set a new record, actually," he reflected, making both girls laugh.

"I don't know about that, James. I have a feeling Mum set the record," Rose pointed out.

"Nah, she had one 'Exceeds Expectations' in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hugo called. Everyone whirled around to look at him.

"Really?" Albus asked. Hugo nodded.

"Dad told me. I was complaining about Mum being so perfect, how she always got 'Outstandings' on everything and expected us to do the same. I mean, she wasn't even happy with my 'Acceptable' in Potions!" he sighed, shaking his head. "And Dad was like, 'You know, Hugo, even your Mum didn't get 'Outstanding' in everything'. She got an 'Exceeds Expectations' on her DADA O.W.L!" The entire table laughed.

"Well, then, you do stand a chance of beating her, Rosie," James concluded. Rose just sighed.

"Can we stop talking about this already?" Lily complained. "_I _don't even have to take them and I'm worried about them, too!"

"Sure!" Fred said. "Who's trying out for the Quidditch team?"

"I am!" chorused Rose, Albus, and Lily. James just smiled.

"Well, then it's a good thing you know the Captain then, eh?" he teased. Rose shook her head.

"James, we all know you'd never favor us. You're way too focused on putting a winning side together," she responded. James just looked at the table.

"Maybe." Everyone laughed again.

"What are you gonna try out for, Rose?" Albus asked. She was silent for a moment before answering.

"Well, I thought I'd try Seeker," she admitted. James's eyebrows raised.

"Seeker? Really? I'd've pegged you as more of a Keeper," he replied. Rose shook her head.

"Keeping doesn't appeal to me, and neither does goal-scoring. I don't have the strength for a Beater, so I decided I'd try Seeker." She shrugged.

"How good are you?" Lily asked. Rose blushed.

"Not bad," she muttered. Hugo snorted.

"Please. I've seen you practice, Rosie. You're really good!" he praised her, but she only flushed more.

"I'm good enough," she said evasively, then turned to Lily and Albus.

"What are you two trying out for?" she asked. Albus winked.

"Seeker," he replied. Rose's mouth dropped open.

"Are you serious?" she half-shrieked. "I've got no chance against you!"

"Sure you do, Rose. If you're half as good as Hugo says you are, you'll be fine. Albus really isn't that good," Lily stage-whispered. Albus glared at her.

"I'm always Seeker when we play with Mum and Dad!" he protested.

"Yeah, and Dad always catches the Snitch," James muttered. Albus glared at his siblings, then attacked his potatoes viciously.

"What about you, Lily?" Roxanne asked quickly. Lily grinned.

"Chaser. Mum says I'm good," she answered.

"That's great," Fred said. "You can join James and I. A Weasley/Potter front!" Everyone laughed, and then the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

"What have we got next?" Rose asked Molly as they fought their way through the crowded entrance hall.

"Transfiguration," Molly replied. The two of them made their way to Professor Switch's classroom and joined the line outside. Rose scanned the others there.

"Looks like we have it with-ugh," she moaned. "Ravenclaws. Which means-"

"Oh, no, not you, Weaselbee," came Scorpius Malfoy's voice from behind her. "I'm sure there are _better people _to have class with," he smirked at her. Rose had just opened her mouth to argue when the door opened and she was forced to stop. Scorpius made a triumphant gesture behind the teachers' back.

"Ignore him, Rose," Molly whispered under her breath as she followed her cousin into the classroom. "He's just trying to make you angry." Rose nodded. Her cousin was right, after all. She took a few deep breaths and tried to listen to Professor Switch.

"Now, for our first lesson, I thought we'd do some simple review-we'll be partnering up and performing Switching Spells! I've already picked the pairs," he added, as people craned their necks, looking for their friends. There was a general moan.

"Oh, come now, it'll be a good opportunity to get to work with someone new," Professor Switch scolded them. Rose didn't mind. So long as she wasn't with..._him._

"Molly Weasley and Jessica Finnigan," the professor began. Molly beamed, and Rose felt a stirring of hope. Maybe these weren't going to be the normal crappy pairings teachers usually assigned. And then-

"Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy," Professor Switch announced, rolling up his parchment. "Now get to work, go on!"

"Oh, Rose, I'm so sorry," Molly gasped, giving her cousin a hug. "That's terrible!"

"Well, I'll just have to deal, won't I?" she snapped. "I'm a Gryffindor, I can handle this. Sorry," she added, seeing the look on her cousin's face. Molly gave her a half-hearted smile and went to join her partner. Rose squared her shoulders, marched over to Scorpius's desk, slammed down her books, and pulled out her wand.

"Right. If we hurry through this, maybe we won't have to talk to each other. Switching Spells. Simple enough. How about you Switch the covers of your books and I'll do the same."

"Sounds fine with me," he muttered. One thing Rose and Scorpius had in common (besides hating the other) was the fact that both took great pride in their academics. They were the top students in every class, always fighting for top spot. Everyone at Hogwarts knew who they were, and how much they bickered. There was even a betting pool on who would win the next argument.

"Oi, Weaselbee, you're doing it wrong," Scorpius said about five minutes after Rose had successfully Switched the covers of her books-thrice.

"I am not," she shot back. "The spell's working."

"Yes, but Professor Switch said that you were supposed to flick your wand first. Flick, swish, slice," he replied, demonstrating with his wand. Rose sighed and mimicked him perfectly.

"You're still doing it wrong," he frowned. Rose sighed in exasperation.

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Rose threw her hands up in exasperation. "If I'm doing it so wrong, Scorpion, then why is the spell still working perfectly?" she yelled.

"I don't know!" he retorted. "But you're moving your arm wrong!" Rose's mouth dropped open.

"You are so picky, Scorpius Malfoy, you know that? I am performing the charm perfectly well, it is working just the way it is supposed to, so why are you still bothering me?"

"Because you're moving your arm wrong! You're supposed to flick your wand, then swish it twice, then raise it _above _your head before bringing it down. Your wand is only coming to shoulder height!"

"Why do you even care?" she asked. "What's it to you if I get it wrong? You love it when I do something wrong!" By now the entire class had stopped what they were doing and were watching Rose and Scorpius argue. The majority of them were on Rose's side: She was doing the charm fine. Some of them, however, agreed with Scorpius: Rose's wand _wasn't_ coming high enough.

"Because! If I win this argument, I get to tell you you were wrong and I was right!" Scorpius replied, as though it were the most simple thing in the world. Professor Switch sighed, then looked at his watch. A minute to go. He wondered briefly which student would win this time. Really, it had been worth putting Rose and Scorpius together just to watch them argue.

"Is that all you think about? You're so conceited and mean and negative! I'm surprised the Sorting Hat didn't put you in Slytherin. It's where you belong, after all!" Rose shouted back. The last word had just left her mouth when the bell rang. Triumphant, Rose packed up her books, stuck her tongue out at Scorpius, and swept out of the room, not even bothering to wait for Molly.

As she fought her way through the teaming corridors, Rose wondered why the Scorpion had chosen to provoke her that way. They were both more than accomplished at the spell-so why was he still bothering her? Men. She'd never understand them.

"Is it true?" Lily asked the second Rose had taken a seat at the Gryffindor table. "You won the customary argument with Scorpius this afternoon?" Rose simply nodded. News like that spread like wildfire, what with all the Weasleys and Potters at the school. It seemed most Hogwarts alumni had started large families, and there were a great many Longbottoms, Finnigans, Thomases, and Goyles running around the place. House passwords were shared all the time, and more often than not, a Hufflepuff would show up in Gryffindor Tower looking for a family member. Or a Gryffindor would be seen trying to figure out the riddle to Ravenclaw Tower. The point was, once one of the siblings in each family heard the news, they'd tell their siblings and all their friends, who would tell all of their friends, until finally the whole school knew.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Roxanne asked, sliding in next to Rose. "Good job, Rosie, that prat needed someone to bring him down today. I don't know what his problem was."

"You said it yourself, Roxie-he's a prat," James replied, sitting down at the table as well. "Nice work, Rose-Albus owes me a Galleon."

"What?" Rose and Lily demanded at the same time.

"You took bets?" Roxanne asked, half-stern, half-amused. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What else is there to bet on?" James inquired. "Nothing. Ah, hello there, little brother. You owe me-"

"One Galleon, I heard," Albus sighed. He fished in his robe pocket and handed James a shiny gold coin a second later. "Happy?"

"Very," James answered, digging into his roast beef once more.

"Why did you think Scorpius would win, Albus?" Rose asked, leaning forward. "Do you really think I would stoop that low?"

"I heard your encounter in the entrance hall this morning. Wasn't sure if you'd be up to arguing after that." Rose decided to ignore him. He was a male, and therefore quite ignorant of the way females worked.

"I was surprised Professor Switch let you two argue," Molly commented a few moments later. "He's usually one of the first to stop you." Rose just shrugged.

"I'm done talking about this, alright? I see enough of that prat during the daytime, I don't need to spend my dinner talking about him, too," she said, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"Hear, hear," James muttered. No one could think of anything else to say, so Rose took out her book and began to read while eating, a trait she was told she inherited from her mother.

After dinner, the cousins all went upstairs to Gryffindor Tower to start on their homework. This simple task entailed exactly two tantrums, one shouting match, several tears, ten reference books, and one journey to Ravenclaw Tower to ask Louis a question. By the time Rose finally fell into her four-poster that night, she was exhausted. Fifth year was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Little did she know that she was just starting on her adventure.

**Please Review!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all! I'm back! I know this is a day later than expected, but I had a crazy-busy Saturday. I went to my first ever football game! It was a ton of fun, I'm glad they won. Ha, that rhymed. ANYWAY...here's chapter 3! This is where the REAL beginning of the plot starts, so I hope you all like it. Thanks to all who reviewed for the kind words! Also, a quick note: I recieved a review from an anonymous reader who was under the name akstar12, and was asked to respond. Sadly, as this person was anonymous, I cannot respond to them, but I want them to know that I really appreciate the kindness they've shown. **

**Disclaimer: Nothing in this story save the plot is mine. **

**Chapter 3: Quidditch Tryouts and Tears**

Thankfully, the rest of Rose's first week back at Hogwarts was not as eventful as the first day. Professor Switch made up a seating chart that placed Rose and Scorpius on opposite sides of the classroom, making both of them very happy. The Weasleys and Potters learned to do their homework without too much complaint, and Rose managed to get a hold on her life again. The week passed by uneventfully, until finally, it was Saturday, the day of the Quidditch tryouts.

"Come on, Rose, you've got to eat."

"I'm fine, really."

"You need something in your stomach!"

"Lay off, Molly, I'm fine!"

Rose and Molly were in the Great Hall. Tryouts were due to start in twenty minutes, and Rose's stomach was nice and full-of butterflies. She'd gotten about five hours of sleep last night, and she couldn't eat today.

"Rose, relax!" Roxanne urged. "I'm sure you'll be fine!" Rose just shook her head and refused to touch the toast and sausage Molly piled on her plate.

Twenty minutes later, Rose had been coerced into eating a piece of toast and was currently standing nervously in the morning frost on the grassy field. James said he was trying out Chasers first, then Beaters, and finally Seekers. She and Albus stood together, both clutching their brooms, neither speaking. Finally, however, Rose could take it no more.

"Please say you won't be angry with me if I make the team," she begged her cousin, turning to him quite suddenly. Albus was taken aback.

"Of course not, Rose!" he replied, seeming genuinely shocked. "You're my cousin! Sure, I might be a little disappointed, but at least you got it!"

"Thanks, Albus," she murmured, hugging him briefly. "Just wanted to make sure." After that, the two of them talked very little, watching as their teammates were chosen. Sure enough, Lily was chosen to be the third Chaser, and Greg and Emily Wood, twin fourth years, were chosen as Beaters. They were good, Rose observed as they took their places in the stands.

"Seekers next!" James called, and Albus, Rose, Rachel Longbottom, and Darren Finnigan made their way onto the field.

"Alright, guys, let's start with a quick warm-up flight and then we'll go from there," James suggested. The four of them mounted their brooms and took off into the air. Rose felt the wind whip through her hair and felt a rush of fierce joy. _She could do this. _As she, Albus, Rachel, and Darren set off around the field, Rose caught sight of a blond-haired boy sitting in the stands. She gasped aloud. Was that really who she thought it was? She'd have to check on her way back around the field. Maybe it wasn't.

But as Rose flew past him again, she was sure. Scorpius Malfoy had come to watch the Quidditch tryouts. What was a Ravenclaw doing at the Gryffindor tryouts? It didn't make sense. Rose hoped he hadn't come to make fun of her. She had enough nerves without that prat being here as well.

"Alright, come on down everyone!" James called, and Rose snapped her focus back to the tryouts. She'd deal with Scorpius later.

"OK, we're just going to do a simple test. Dad said he did this for his tryout, and it must be a good one, because he was the best Seeker Hogwarts ever saw. I'm going to take one of you at a time, and just throw golf balls for you to catch. They're about the same size as the Snitch, so we'll see how fast you are. Darren, you can go first," he added. Darren looked nervous, but followed James onto the field nonetheless. He did fairly well. Of the 30 in the bag, he caught about 20. He fumbled a few Rose personally felt were pretty easy.

Rachel went next. She caught about 15, and took it in good graces when James asked her to leave the field. Rose gave her a small smile as she passed, which she returned.

Albus went next, and he caught about 25 of the 30. Rose felt much more nervous now. James was throwing the balls pretty hard, and while it didn't look that hard to Rose, she knew it would be a whole different thing once she got up there. If Darren Finnigan ever cleared off, that was.

"I'm telling you, I want another go," he yelled at James. "You just went easy on him because he's your brother!" James' whole face darkened.

"HOW DARE YOU?" he yelled. "I would never! Leave, now, before I hex you. You've got five seconds to clear off." He held up five fingers.

"I'm not going, I tell you!" Darren argued. "I'm getting another go!"

James lowered a finger.

"You'll have to drag me off!" Darren threatened.

James lowered a second finger.

Darren's next comment contained so many swear words Rose felt it unnecessary to ever repeat it.

James lowered two more fingers.

"I'll hex you first," Darren screamed, then pulled out his wand. Rose got to her own just in time.

"_Expelliarmus!" _she shrieked, and Darren's wand flew out of his hand. James pulled out his own wand and pointed it at Darren.

"Go. Now." This time, Darren heeded him and left after showing him the finger. Breathing heavily, James turned back to Rose. She took a couple of steps back, and his face softened.

"Don't be like that, Rosie. I was just mad. Come on, it's your turn now." She nodded, and they took to the skies. James reached into the bag and pulled out a golf ball, then chucked it off behind him. Rose, caught off guard, didn't make it there in time and the ball hit the ground. Blushing furiously, Rose could hear everyone in the stands laughing, particularly Scorpius. Determined to show them all she really was good, she rose into the air again. This time, when James chucked the ball, it wasn't a few moments later that she caught it.

That stopped the whispers in the crowd.

Rose's tryout continued in much the same way. Once, James decided to be cocky and chuck the ball at the crowd. Rose dived after it and saved Taylor Longbottom a broken nose.

All in all, Rose saved 29 of the 30 balls James threw. When she caught the last one, the crowd applauded, even Albus down on the field. James flew over to hug her.

"I present the new Gryffindor Seeker!" he announced, holding her hand high above their heads. Rose blushed, but smiled and nodded all the same. "Great job, Rose," he muttered to her in an undertone. Rose smiled back at him.

"I was really nervous," she admitted. "That's why I missed the first one. You caught me off guard." He chuckled.

"Well, it didn't matter in the end, did it? You're Seeker now, congrats. Come meet the team with me." Rose followed him to the ground, where the rest of the team had already congregated.

"Brilliant, Rose," Fred praised her, and Lily gave her a hug. Rose smiled and thanked both of them before turning back to James.

"Right. Well done, all of you. It's good to have some new blood on the team, shake things up a bit. Our first practice will be on Wednesday, at seven, so mind you get here on time and not dawdle." Rose had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. James, lecturing them about being on time? It was ridiculous. But James loved Quidditch, and therefore it was probably the only thing he was ever on time for.

"We'll be there, mate," Fred assured him, clapping him on the back as the rest of the team murmured assent.

"Great. Let's get changed then, and I think it's nearly lunchtime, so..." The team laughed, then headed to the locker rooms. Rose waved at Molly to let her know to go ahead and not wait for her, then ducked into the changing rooms.

When she emerged about ten minutes later, she was alone and the stands were deserted. She hefted her broomstick over one shoulder and set off across the sunlit grounds.

The emerald green trees of the Forbidden Forest swayed in the gentle breeze, and the lake sparkled a gorgeous turquoise. Rose found herself reveling in the beauty and serenity of nature. She enjoyed it much more than the hustle and bustle and stress of the castle, with homework and classes and-

"Weaselbee!"

Oh, no. Not him, not him, not him. Rose stopped and stood stock still. Please let it not be him...

"Weaselbee! Can you hear me?" Rose still didn't move.

"Rose!"

Only the shock of hearing her name come out of Scorpius Malfoy's mouth made Rose turn around. She didn't think he knew her real name! He always called her 'Weaselbee' or something equally stupid that he'd made up.

"What?" she asked, too shocked to sound angry.

"Just wanted to talk about Quidditch tryouts, that's all," he shrugged, as though bitter enemies often talked about Quidditch tryouts. Rose just stared at him.

"OK...what about them?"

"Well, you know how you missed that one?" he began, and Rose tensed up. If he was here to hassle her again...

"Yes," she answered shortly.

"Well, I just wanted to point out that you've got to always be ready for stuff like that. The Snitch could come at any moment in the game, so you've got to be looking around all the time."

"I know that, Scorpius," she retorted, then stopped, surprised. She'd just said his name as well. He looked as stunned as she did for a moment, then continued, a slight smirk on his face.

"Well, I just thought you'd want some tips from an expert Seeker," he replied casually, sweeping his hair back. Rose's mouth dropped.

"And since when are you an expert Seeker?"

"Since about second year. I was the youngest player ever-"

"No, you're not," Rose cut him off. Scorpius shook his head.

"Yes, Weaselbee, I was. First years can't play, so obviously-"

"I'm telling you, you're wrong! When my Uncle Harry was at Hogwarts, he was the youngest House player in a century! He was a first year when he was chosen to play," she announced proudly. "You said you were a second year, Scorpion. He was a first year. And as I recall," she added, taking a step closer to him, "he loves to tell the story of the time his team won the Quidditch Cup-and who was it they were playing?" Scorpius's eyes were slits. "That's right - your Dad!" Rose finished triumphantly.

"Well, obviously, you've inherited your father's Quidditch genes," he shot back. "Your mum was too afraid to go on a broomstick, and from what my father's told me, your father wasn't a very good Quidditch player, either, which is shown by your poor talent on the field! Bet that was your first time on a broomstick, wasn't it?"

"It was not!" Rose screamed, feeling tears prick at her eyes. "Since you're so interested, I practiced all summer this year and last, but didn't have the opportunity to try out for the team last year! I'm usually the first one picked when my family plays Quidditch during our reunions and such! What do you have to say to that, eh?"

"It doesn't show," Scorpius answered snidely. "Your team should be a pushover this year if you're my opposition."

He knew instantly he'd gone too far. Rose, who was immensely proud of her new position and the skill which had gotten her there, immediately burst into tears. Scorpius stood, stunned. He'd never seen her cry before, and (shamed as he was to admit it) it pulled at his heartstrings a little.

"Wha-Rose?" he asked weakly.

"Go away!" she sobbed. "You're such a horrid person, Malfoy, I hate you!" And with that, she ran back up to the castle, using her sleeve to mop at her eyes as she went.

**Bit of a cliffhanger, but you all know I'm notorious for cliffys. Gotta love 'em! Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please leave a review!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello to all my lovely readers, reviewers, subscribers! My sincerest apologies for not uploading sooner, but I had a surprise family vacation and finals. Yay. Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter, it's one of my personal favorites. Also, a quick thing: I've been considering upping the rating due to swearing. Thoughts? Tell me in a review :)**

**Disclaimer: Characters and setting aren't mine, they're J.K. Rowling's. The only thing I own is the not-so-original plot. Seriously, I can find a ton of stories where they fight if I look hard enough :)**

Chapter 4: Don't Get Mad; Get Even

Rose ran all the way to Gryffindor Tower, still crying. She couldn't believe how mean Scorpius was to her. What the hell had she ever done to deserve this? Well...she did argue with him 24/7, but she had never _cried _in front of him before. What was wrong with her?

"Unexpected!" she yelled at the Fat Lady, who jumped and then swung forward.

"Rose!" Molly gushed, meeting her at the door. "I heard you got Seeker, that's wond...Rose, what's wrong?" Rose only cried harder, mopping at her eyes.

"S-Scorpius," she admitted. Molly's mouth dropped open.

"_He _did this to you?" she asked. Rose nodded, her tears overflowing again. "But Rose...what could he possibly have said to make you _cry_?" Rose barely restrained a sob.

"H-He told me I was terrible at Quidditch, and that I had no talent for it. He said that our team should be a pushover this year if I was his opposition," she replied, a fresh wave of tears overwhelming her.

"Rose! Congrat-what's wrong? Holy shit, Rosie, what happened to you?" Fred asked, fighting his way over to her and Molly.

"Fred! Don't use that-Rose!" Roxanne gasped, following her brother.

"What's up?" Albus asked, appearing at Molly's elbow. "What's the matter with her?" he asked accusingly, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around Rose's shoulders.

"Scorpius," Molly whispered in reply. Albus's green eyes became slits.

"What'd he do?" he asked tightly.

"H-He told me I was awful at Quidditch and that we would be a pushover this season because I was on the team," Rose answered, burying her face in Albus's shirt. She felt his arm tighten around her.

"Why that little-"

"Do you really want to finish that sentence, dear brother? I'm sure Mother wouldn't-oh my Merlin, Rose!" Lily shrieked, arriving on the scene. "Go sit her down, Albus, I'll be right back with some tea!" She dashed right back out the portrait hole. Albus did as Lily had instructed, and the entire clan of Weasleys and Potters clustered around her.

"Hey, what's-Rose, what happened? Who did this to my sister?" Hugo demanded, glaring at them all. Roxanne shot him a look.

"Do you even need to ask that question?" she asked scathingly. Hugo looked bewildered.

"Since when has Rose ever cried?" he asked. The entire family fell silent, Albus rubbing Rose's back. No one could think of any times. "See? She hides a lot. What happened, Rosie?" Hugo asked gently, kneeling in front of his sister. Rose shook her head, not wanting to relive the hurtful words. Molly bent down and whispered in his ear. Hugo's eyes widened.

"He didn't," he growled. "I'm going to go murder him," he declared, leaping to his feet and storming towards the portrait hole.

"No!" James said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "I'll not have my favorite cousin arrested for murder." Everyone chuckled at this, except Rose, who had quieted some.

"It's alright, Rose," Fred said in a voice no one had heard him use before. It was gentle, sweet, and understanding. "You're an amazing Seeker. Best one that tried out, actually. You know that's not true, Rosie, don't cry. A prat like that isn't worth your tears," he added, taking her hand and squeezing it as Lily came back through the portrait hole with a cup of tea.

"Here, Rose," she said kindly, offering it to her cousin, who accepted.

"Take small drinks," Albus coached, watching as Rose took several shaky drinks of her favorite tea. She didn't voice it aloud, but Lily had forgotten she took her tea with lemon. It was the only way it was tolerable for her. After a few drinks, she set the cup down again.

"You alright, Rose?" James asked seriously. She nodded.

"Yeah," she replied, and her voice cracked. "I...I don't know why I lost it like that. I guess he just took it one step too far this time."

"I wondered," Hugo muttered. "You always come back pissed after you argue with him. I figured this would happen. But he had no right to say those things to you," he finished fiercely, reaching out and giving Rose an unexpected hug.

"Hey, all, what's up?" came a cheery voice through the portrait hole. Everyone turned to find Louis (the only one of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's children with red hair) coming through the portrait hole. Even though he was a Ravenclaw, not one Gryffindor was surprised to see him here. What with half of the student body of Hogwarts being related, passwords were always being shared and it really wasn't all that uncommon to see members of another House in a different Common Room.

"Rose and Scorpius were arguing again," Lily summarized. Louis shook his head, about to laugh, then saw Rose's tear streaked face.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" he asked, hurrying over to her immediately.

"He was just mean," she replied, taking another sip of her tea to avoid answering. She regretted this instantly, as the tea just didn't taste right without lemon. Louis frowned, and Molly explained quickly. When she finished, Louis's mouth was hanging open.

"Oh, no way," he finally choked out. "We aren't letting him get away with this one, Rosie."

"What do you mean?" Rose hedged, wondering if Louis had finally gone crazy(they all knew it was going to happen).

"I mean, we're going to get even," he replied simply.

"You mean...prank them or something?" James asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Damn straight," Louis replied.

"Watch your mouth," Molly and Rose muttered at the same time, but both leaned forward to listen all the same.

"Right," Louis began, his blue eyes sparkling. "Here's what we're gonna do..."

* * *

Two days later, just before the plan was about to be put into action, Molly still wasn't convinced this was a good idea. She argued with everyone in the family all the way up to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Where is your conscious?" she hissed at them. "What made you think this was a good idea? It's so cowardly, and ridiculous, and we'll get in so much trouble-"

"You sound like Mum," Hugo muttered, rolling his eyes. Rose couldn't help but agree.

"Listen, Molly," Albus sighed as the redhead opened her mouth once more, hazel eyes furious. "If you really don't like what we're doing, then just go back to Gryffindor Tower, for Merlin's sake!"

"I would never!" Molly gasped, outraged.

"Then shush up, we're nearly there," James said, and his cousin heeded him, though she kept glaring darkly at Louis the whole way there.

When the nine of them came to a halt outside Ravenclaw Tower, Louis reached out his hand and knocked upon the door. At once, the cool female voice rang out.

"For some I go fast, for others I'm slow. To most people, I'm an obsession. Relying on me is a well-practiced lesson. What am I?" Louis paused, his brow furrowed, but Rose stepped forward.

"Time," she whispered.

"Correct," the knocker replied, and the door swung forward to admit them. Rose followed Albus into the Common Room, sighing, as she always did, at the beauty of the tower. Though Rose did quite love being a Gryffindor, there were some days she came up here to spend time with Dominique, simply because the rest of Ravenclaw House didn't mind that she was bookish and intelligent. They all were, too.

"You made it alright, then?" Dominique whispered from the shadows, stepping forward in a sapphire dressing gown. Rose nodded.

"Well, Molly didn't want to come," Fred whispered back, "but we convinced her in the end." Molly opened her mouth to argue, but Dominique put a finger to her lips.

"Shh. I understand, Molly. This plan truly is inadvisable, but who am I to stop our feisty cousins?" Molly smiled in relief, and she and Dominique went to sit on the couch.

"Go on, you lot," Molly whispered, and James and Fred pulled a box from the corner of the room. Albus and Hugo grabbed another, while Rose and Roxanne found the balls of string hidden amongst the room. As Molly grabbed the last item from underneath the deep blue couch and handed it to Rose, Lily dashed up the stairs to the boys' dorms to check that the coast was clear. When a shiny Galleon rolled to the floor at Rose's feet, she scooped it up and beckoned to her cousins, who all followed her.

Lily was waiting at the top of the stairs, right outside the boys' dorm. When she saw them, she waved frantically, hopping up and down.

"Shh!" Roxanne hissed. "Don't move! It's the middle of the night, for crying out loud!" Lily froze immediately, and they could tell she hadn't thought about that. Lily tended to get slightly over excited.

The eight cousins hoisted all their materials to the landing and then pressed their ears to the door. After several minutes of nothing but snoring, Albus reached out and pushed the door open, very tentatively. No one inside the dorm moved, and he gestured for the others to grab the materials and follow him. They did as they were told.

"OK," James whispered, after casting the Muffliato charm (something he claimed to have learned from his father) over the room. "You know what to do."

And they did. Water balloons were hung, string strung, and a single flower placed very strategically. The plan had been quintuple checked, by Dominique, Louis, Rose, James, and then by Fred, so it was guaranteed to work. After all, if the smartest of the Weasleys and the two best pranksters Hogwarts had seen in years approved of it, how bad could it be?

Sure enough, the plan was fully in place at around two A.M. in the morning. The Weasleys and Potters crept slowly back down the stairs, where they found Molly and Dominique both curled up with a book and fast asleep. Rose shook Molly awake, and then the family bid Louis goodnight as they left for Gryffindor Tower.

"How'd it go, Rose?" Molly yawned. Rose smiled devilishly.

"Perfectly. I can't wait to see that prat's face tomorrow..."

"What exactly did you do?" Molly inquired, rolling over, sounding slightly more alert.

"Well, James and Fred rigged this really elaborate string contraption over his bed, and it's designed to activate the moment he gets out of bed. We strung up water balloons all over the dormitory's ceiling, so no matter where he tries to get away, they're all going to hit him. Then Roxanne did this motion-activated charm that tells when to start the domino effect, dropping all the balloons. And when he opens his door, sputtering and soaking wet, the first thing he's going to see is a rose, hanging right in front of his face. Lily rigged that one," she added with a laugh. "Just wish I could be there to see the prat's face when he realizes what we did."

She and Molly both giggle, then fall silent and finally asleep, each eagerly anticipating the next day.

* * *

"Rose! Get up! Now!"

Rose awoke to her cousin Molly shaking her and looking excited.

"What? What? Did the prank go off?" she asked, sitting up quickly and rubbing her eyes.

"It's about to. Louis sent an owl and said he could hear the lot of them waking up. We need to get to Ravenclaw Tower, now!"

"On it!" Rose jumped out of bed and pulled on her skirt and blouse quickly, making sure they were neat. She tied her Gryffindor tie around her neck, then pulled on her shoes and socks and headed for the door.

"What about your robes?" Molly asked, following her down the dormitory stairs.

"I'll come back for them!" Rose called over her shoulder. They met Roxanne, Fred, James, Albus, Lily, Hugo, and Lucy at the foot of the stairs.

"Why are you all just standing here? Let's go!" Rose shrieked, and the nine cousins streaked off to Ravenclaw Tower. When they arrived, red-faced and out of breath, Lucy reached out and knocked the eagle head three times.

"What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?" asked the eagle knocker. The cousins were stunned temporarily stunned before Lily stepped forward.

"The letter m," she replied.

"Well reasoned," replied the knocker, and the door opened. At that exact second, there came a huge roar from upstairs.

"WHAT THE BLOODY-WHO-WHY-GAH!"

Rose barely made it through the door before she fell over laughing. Dominique and Louis, who were both waiting inside, were clutching the backs of chairs. Lily was still outside in the hallway, doubled over, and all of the male Weasleys(and Potters) were howling.

"Damn," Molly muttered, peering up the staircase. "You did good."

"I know," Albus panted, dragging himself upright again. A sudden explosion hit the floor, and Fred and James took one look at each other before busting up again.

"What was that?" Lily asked, finally entering the Common Room and peering up the staircase with Molly.

"I have no idea," Roxanne answered. "But I think Idiots One and Two over there have an idea."

"What did you two do?" Lucy demanded, looking worriedly at the staircase.

"Fireworks," Fred panted. "We hid them when we knew you all weren't looking. If the balloon fell at just the right angle, and it did, then Scorp and his friends were in for a steamy start. If not, it would've gone off in the middle of the night tonight."

"I think you could give Grandpa James a run for his money," Dominique muttered. "That was genius!"

The Weasley/Potters had never actually met Grandpa James or Grandma Lily. All they knew were the stories Harry would tell sometimes, stories Sirius and Remus had told him. On occasion, Andromeda Tonks would also have a story about one or the other.

"DAMN IT!" Scorpius screamed at the top of his lungs. The family jumped, then laughed again. They heard the door being wrenched open and everyone froze.

"ROSE WEASLEY!" he screamed, and that did it. All but Rose laughed so hard they couldn't stand. Rose, cool as you please, walked over to the staircase.

"Yes?" she called up. There was a great thumping, and Scorpius Malfoy stormed into the Common Room, soaking wet and livid.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" he asked, getting right in her face. Louis, Fred, James, Hugo, and Albus all jumped to their feet, but Rose held her own.

"I was thinking about what an arse you were after Quidditch tryouts!" she retorted. Scorpius jerked back as though slapped. "And how much you annoy the hell out of me every single day!"

"So you decided to do this?" Scorpius demanded, waving his arms above his head and sending a spray of water through the room.

"Actually, it was Louis's idea. I simply agreed to it."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHOSE IDEA IT WAS! YOU GOT ME SOAKING WET!" he screamed.

"I noticed," she replied coolly.

"You're so terrible, Weasley!" he snapped. Her eyes flashed.

"Give me one example before this," she snarled.

"You're always picking a fight with me, and-"

"Yeah, right," Molly snorted. "If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who bothered _her _in Transfiguration on Monday." Scorpius ignored her.

"And then there was that time when-er, when-um..." he trailed off. The truth was, that although Rose could annoy him to no end, the things they bickered about were mostly ridiculous things. This was honestly the worst thing she'd ever done to him, and it really wasn't that bad. His pride was just hurt, but no Malfoy would ever take something like this lying down.

"See? You can't even think of one thing I've done to you! Whereas I can name several!" Rose yelled.

"Oh yeah? Go ahead then!" Scorpius retorted.

"Well, you called me a 'Mudblood's Daughter' for the first two weeks I was at this school, and then you bullied me in second year, and you argued with me all through third and fourth year, and in the one week we've been here, you've insulted my friends, made a fool of me in Charms yesterday, bothered me in Transfiguration simply to 'win an argument' and made me cry two days ago!" Rose snapped. "How's that, Malfoy?"

"Well, you're just so annoying I can't help it!"

"That is the lamest excuse I've ever heard, Scorpius Malfoy."

They stood glaring at each other, arms crossed, in the middle of the room. Albus remembered his father telling him a story about coming back from a ball in his fourth year to find Ron and Hermione arguing in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room. If only his dad could see Rose and Scorpius now, Albus thought. They really were just like Ron and Hermione.

"Well, I can tell you this, Weaselbee. It's on!" Scorpius declared, glaring at the Weasleys and Potters in the room.

"Bring it," James retorted. Scorpius made a rude hand gesture and then stomped back up the stairs.

"Charming, isn't he?" Roxanne muttered, rolling her eyes in disgust. The whole family laughed.

"Come on, guys," Lucy finally said. "We've got to get out of here. Classes start in a half hour, but we've got to eat, James, Fred, Albus, Hugo, Louis, and Dominique need to get dressed, Molly and Rose both need their robes on, Lily's hair looks like a rat's nest, and Roxanne, I'm pretty sure you forgot to put makeup on half of your face." Every single member of her family blushed, with the exception of Dominique, and they all made their way to Gryffindor Tower (excluding Louis and Dominique, who went to their respective dormitories) to ready themselves for the coming day. They all knew it was going to be a big one.

And they were right. By the end of the day, Rose and Scorpius had fought two more times (once in the middle of the Great Hall and once in Transfiguration), James had his third girlfriend, the Weasleys and Potters had been bothered so much for information that they were regretting the prank, and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were in a full-out prank war. Let the games begin!

**Hee hee. What do you guys think? Things aren't going well for Rose and ol' Scorp...but the road to romance is never easy! Please leave a review, if not just to say that the rating should be upped for swearing.**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everybody! I feel like it's been so long since I posted on this story, but it really hasn't been - just over a week! I've had so much going on though. Anyways, I'd just like to thank my wonderful reviewers for all their kind words! I love all your reactions to my pranks! I actually made that one up myself, so I was pretty proud of that. I wish I could give you all blueprints, but sadly, I have none. However, in this chapter we will be more in a Scorpius point of view. It was lots of fun to switch to being inside his head, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!**

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Harry Potter. All rights go to the amazing awesome J.K. Rowling. **

Chapter 5: Payback Time

For the next week, Scorpius Malfoy plotted. He, his dorm mates, their girlfriends, and any Ravenclaw that was not a Weasley nor a friend of one would sit and plot in the Common Room, the library, wherever. But they plotted.

Because there was no way any of them were taking that one lying down. Sure, Scorpius may have been a bit too mean to Rose, but that was no way to retaliate! So they plotted. A few Slytherins even helped, since none of them liked the Gryffindors. Even after all the prejudice in the magical world, some things don't change, and the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry was one of them.

It wasn't like the only thing they did was plot. They did have homework, classes, and Quidditch, and quite aside from that, they also had to start thinking about their career choices. Scorpius had never told anybody, but he really, really wanted to be a Naturalist. He was fascinated by all the creatures and plants in the Wizarding World, and he wanted to learn about them all, which was why he was taking Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Although Professor Hagrid often brought dangerous animals to class, Scorpius loved the challenge of taking care of them.

His friends all wanted to be Aurors, and join Harry Potter and Ron Weasley at the Ministry. They were the best-known Aurors since Mad-Eye Moody, and everyone idolized them and Hermione Weasley, Ron's wife. They were the Golden Trio, revered throughout the Wizarding World, and every young Wizarding child aspired to be like them. Some made their dreams into a reality, and others grew out of their childhood obsession. Scorpius was one of the latter.

He'd been the same as everyone else in his youth: His mum would tell him stories about the war, while his dad watched from the doorway, a small smile on his lips. Scorpius's father had always made it very clear that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the good guys, even though at school he had been their enemy. In fact, Draco knew the funniest stories when it came to Ron and Hermione Weasley and their school days. But the point was, Scorpius had been just like any other child, idolizing the Golden Trio and hoping that someday, he'd get to work for Ron Weasley or Harry Potter.

And then he met their children. Rose Weasley, in particular, annoyed the hell out of him, especially with that goddamn prank she pulled on him a week ago, and after that, his obsession with Harry, Ron, and Hermione had quite faded away. Now, he wanted to be a Wizarding Naturalist. He'd first gotten interested after studying the Venomous Tentacula in Greenhouse Three while in Herbology, back in his second year. Now, plants and animals of the Wizarding World was all he thought about.

"Oi, mate, you awake?"

Scorpius gave a start as his best friend, Daniel Thomas, waved his hand in front of his face.

"Wha-yeah, I'm here," he replied guiltily. "Sorry. Zoning out, you know?"

"You wouldn't happen to be thinking about anyone, would you?" Dan asked, a smirk on his face. "Such as...a certain girl?" Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"If you even mention her name I swear to Merlin I will take my wand and hex your-"

"OK, OK! Sheesh," Dan muttered. "You'd think I mortally offended you or something."

"Maybe you did," Scorpius pointed out, and earned himself a smack on the head. "Oi!"

"Come on, we've got meet the guys and get back at those redheaded weasels," Dan sighed, standing up and stretching, acting as though he hadn't just hit Scorpius upside the head. The two boys made their way back up to Ravenclaw Tower, passing a group of chattering fourth year Hufflepuffs as they went.

"You have a wood stove, a coal stove, and a gas stove. You have only one match. Which should you light first?" the knocker inquired

"Coal stove," Dan answered confidently.

"Incorrect," the knocker replies. Scorpius burst out laughing at the look on his face.

"The match," he told it.

"Correct. Please take away something from this," the eagle lectured the two boys as they entered their Common Room, Scorpius still laughing.

"How did you not get that, mate?" Scorpius inquired as they flopped down on the sapphire blue couches.

"Well, I was thinking since the coal stove would get so warm, it'd be easy to get the other two to ignite after that," Dan muttered, embarrassed, as they pulled out their Herbology essays and started to work. Silence fell as they waited for the rest of their friend, working on their essays as they did so. After about 15 minutes, Dan threw his quill down and buried his face in his hands.

"How do you understand this crap?" he asked Scorpius incredulously. Scorpius shrugged, unwilling to reveal his secret passion.

"I listen in class?"

"I do, too!" Dan protested.

"Right," Scorpius muttered. Dan opened his mouth to argue, but at that moment, the rest of the 'Pranking Group' entered the tower.

"Hey, guys!" Samuel Boot (son of Terry Boot) called as he, Roger Corner, Michael Davies, and Gregory Goldstein entered the tower, along with their girlfriends.

"Hey," Dan called back, rolling up his Herbology essay and stuffing it in his bag. Scorpius reluctantly followed suit.

"So I thought of the most ingenious prank!" Roger announced. "Come here, I'll tell you about it." Everyone gathered around him, and once he'd finished explaining, everyone sat back, amazed.

"Wow," Scorpius finally said. "That'll piss her off, alright. When do we strike?" Michael Davies grinned.

"How about tonight?"

"You're on," Dan agreed.

* * *

Around midnight that night, a group of nine Ravenclaws snuck out of their tower. They hurried along corridors and up staircases, all of them extremely wary of being caught. Ravenclaws were total teachers pets, and none of them wanted to be the one to tarnish that reputation.

At the painting of the Fat Lady, they were temporarily held up as Gregory Goldstein fumbled for the piece of paper on which he'd written the password. It had been a stroke of luck, really, that he'd overheard Dominique and Louis Weasley talking about it one night in the Common Room, otherwise entry into Gryffindor Tower wouldn't have been that simple.

"Unexpected," Goldstein finally whispered, and they all crept into the dark and empty Common Room.

"Alright, guys," Scorpius whispered. "You all know what to do. Let's do this." Everyone nodded, then reached into the huge bag Scorpius was holding, each one pulling out a piece of their prank. Then each boy's girlfriend levitated one of the males up the stairs. Boot's girlfriend had to return for Scorpius, which made him slightly jealous he didn't have a girlfriend to do it for him.

At the top of the stairs, Violet(Corner's girlfriend) placed a finger to her lips and slowly entered the girls' dorm. When she ascertained everything was clear, the group went to work, hiding small silver objects in various spots around the room. Scorpius and Dan each grabbed a can of whipped cream and headed for the beds.

"I'll get Rose and Molly. You do the rest," Scorpius mouthed to Dan, who nodded. While the blond Ravenclaw had no problem covering Molly with a load of the stuff, when he pulled back the curtain to Rose's bed, a ray of moonlight fell and illuminated her face, causing him to pause.

She looked so sweet and innocent lying there, her eyes closed, lips slightly parted, breathing deeply. As though she was somehow younger. Scorpius didn't see her smile often, as she was generally yelling her head off at him most of the time. But on the rare occasion he did see her smiling or laughing across the Great Hall, he couldn't deny that it really made her look almost-_pretty. _

But this same girl had also caused him severe humiliation. And it was payback time. So Scorpius slowly raised the can and drizzled sticky gobs of white cream all down his enemy's arm, across her body, and in her hair. Then he and Davies went into the corridor to fix a little surprise for Rose and her dorm mates the next morning while the others put the finishing touches on the prank. At long last, they were done.

"Ready, Scorp?" Davies asked, and he nodded. They took the easy way down, sliding down the staircase, before clambering silently out of the portrait hole and sprinting back to Ravenclaw tower. As Scorpius got into bed and pulled the covers up, he realized that in the morning, he would have gotten very little sleep. Ah, well. It would be worth it to see the look on Rose Weasley's face tomorrow morning.

* * *

At exactly two o'clock that morning, nearly 20 alarm clocks went off at once in the fifth year Gryffindor girls' dormitories. Each of the girls awoke with a scream, which quickly became louder and more frequent as they all realized what they were covered in.

"Is that-_whipped cream?_" Molly shrieked. Rose nodded, her hands in her hair, horrified.

"MALFOY, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" she screamed, then whipped out her wand. The second she cast a charm to silence the alarm clocks, feathers began to fall from the ceiling. Feathers that stuck to everything and everyone.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Samantha MacMillian groaned. "We'll _never _get cleaned up in time for classes!"

"What time is it?" Elizabeth Thomas asked. Rose looked at her clock, then shrieked.

"It's seven thirty!"

"No it's not," Molly protested. "My clock says it's five in the morning!"

"Mine says it's four thirty!" Samantha exclaimed.

"Damn," Elizabeth swore, then drew the curtains. "Well, it's dark out, so that means it's definitely not five or seven thirty."

"You know what," Molly said, walking around the room until she spotted one of the many alarm clocks the boys had hidden, "I bet this will tell us. Rose, grab that one. What's it say?"

"Two in the morning," Rose growled. Molly nodded.

"Same."

"Whew," Samantha sighed, sinking onto her bed as the feathers finally stopped falling. "We have some time." Rose, however, stomped over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, a rubber scorpion was sitting on the floor outside their dormitory. As soon as the door was open, it came to life and scuttled inside. Rose shrieked and leaped onto the nearest bed.

"It's moving! I thought it was rubber!" she gasped. Slowly, Molly advanced on it, shooting sparks.

"It is, Rose," Molly laughed. "He put a charm on it to make it move."

"I still don't like it," she muttered as Molly froze the toy and then threw it out of the window.

"Come on," Elizabeth sighed. "Let's get this cleaned up and then hopefully we can get some more sleep."

The girls pulled out their wands and divvied up the tasks. Rose and Molly cleaned the beds, sheets, clothes, and possessions that had gotten sprayed with whipped cream, and Elizabeth and Samantha found and silenced all the alarm clocks. When they were finally done cleaning up the feathers(which had to be done manually), it was almost four in the morning. But even then, the girls didn't fall back to sleep. They sat in a small circle on the floor, plotting revenge. Because Scorpius Malfoy was going to pay. And it was going to be a hefty price.

* * *

"Hey, Weaselbee," Scorpius smirked at Rose as she walked into the hall that morning. "Sleep well?"

To his immense surprise, Rose beamed at him.

"I did," she responded enthusiastically. "Best night's sleep I've had in awhile, thanks." Scorpius's jaw dropped. He couldn't help noticing that there were no bags under her eyes, she was perfectly clean, and she wasn't extremely annoyed with him either.

"Er...nothing...happen last night?" he asked in an off-hand sort of way. Rose furrowed her brow.

"Nothing at all. Why?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Trying to get one of us girls to fall for you, Scorpion?"

Scorpius turned cherry red. "NO!"

Rose sniggered.

"Right. Whatever," she said airily, and she sauntered over to the Gryffindor table, smirking.

"What's gotten into her?" Corner asked, his mouth open.

"I don't know. Why didn't our prank go off last night?" Scorpius asked, but Davies, Corner, Boot, and even Dan were too busy staring at Rose.

"OI!" he bellowed. They all jumped and turned to look at him.

"What, sorry?" Boot asked, looking a little guilty.

"What are you staring at her for? You all have girlfriends!" Scorpius said indignantly.

"Yeah, but...mate, she's bloody hot. Haven't you noticed?" Dan asked, craning his neck to get a better view of Rose.

"No, she's not!" Scorpius protested, looking slightly repulsed. "She's so terrible and she'll argue with you about anything!"

"I think that's just you, mate," Corner replied. "She's perfectly sweet to everyone else." Scorpius shook his head.

"You're all a bunch of idiots," he declared. "Did you even hear what she said? Our prank didn't go off last night!" The guys' jaws dropped.

"Are you serious?"

"No way!"

"She's pulling your leg, mate, we rigged that perfectly."

"But look at the lot of them! They're clean and they don't even look...wait, never mind," Scorpius muttered, seeing Elizabeth Thomas, one of Rose's fellow fifth year Gryffindor girls, fast asleep at the table.

"Told you, mate," Davies sighed. "She's pulling your leg. And if I were you," he added, "I'd be extra careful around her from now on. Rose Weasley can be right scary when she wants to be."

"I know," Corner muttered. "But that just adds to the hot factor."

His girlfriend, Violet, smacked him on the arm. Scorpius sniggered.

* * *

"I'd still watch your back, mate," Dan muttered to him late that night in the Common Room. "She won't let you get away with this."

Scorpius sighed.

"I know."

**Which, of course, means Rose is going to get him back. How? Well, keep reading to find out. And while you're at it, a review would be nice! Please? Thanks!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! I suffered through writing a research paper all day, and then I remembered I needed to post this. That...was...incredibly random. Um. Yeah. I'm just gonna stop talking now. Enjoy this chapter, it's one of my favorites :)**

Chapter 6: Better Than Revenge

"Did you see the look on his face?" Molly giggled as Rose took her seat at the Gryffindor table. "He totally fell for it!"

Rose laughed.

"I know, he's so gullible! Serves him right! Never try to outsmart a Weasley," Rose smirked.

"Oh, look, they're all trying to see if we're kidding or not," Samantha said, pointing inconspicuously towards the Ravenclaw table. Sure enough, Scorpius and all his cronies were craning their necks to see the girls.

"Act natural," Rose ordered as Albus sat down.

"Why?" he asked.

"Scorpius pranked us back last night," Molly muttered in an undertone. Albus choked on his pumpkin juice.

"What? Are you serious? What'd he do?" he sputtered.

"Shh!" Rose scolded, handing her cousin a napkin. "You can't tell anyone, alright, but he set a bunch of alarm clocks to two A.M. and left them in our dorm room, all over the place. He covered us all in whipped cream and then charmed feathers to fall down on us when we woke up. It was a mess, we didn't get cleaned up till four," she sighed. "BUT we've got an amazing prank and we're going to put it into action tonight. He'll never be expecting us to pull it this fast."

"Do I get to help?"

The voices of James and Fred came from behind them in unison. Rose whipped around, her red curls flying. She hadn't even realized they had been overheard.

"If you're quiet about it," Molly replied, fixing them with a glare. Both quailed under her gaze and nodded.

"Right, then," Rose said, leaning forward. "Here's what we're gonna do. Molly and I will be pulling something in the Great Hall, and you two are going to be heading to the dorms to pull this one, alright?"

"And how exactly does that work?" Fred asked, squinting at the diagrams the two girls had drawn. When both Rose and Molly glared at him, he held up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry! I'm not a genius like you two! I'm _much _stupider."

Rose couldn't help but chuckle, before she leaned forward to explain the diagram to Fred.

* * *

Later that day, during the midmorning break, Rose was sitting on the edge of the lake, her shoes off, toes in the water, reading a book while absorbing the unusually warm autumn sun. Molly had to stay behind in Potions to clean up her mess, so Rose was alone for awhile. Or so she thought.

"Oi, Weaselbee!"

She froze. Damn it, why did he always have to bother her? Was he picking an argument on purpose?

_Don't let him get to you, Rose, _she chided herself. Ignoring the tall, blond figure behind her, she continued to read, turning a page loudly and obviously. She continued to ignore him as he kept calling her, and didn't look up until he flopped onto the grass next to her.

"What?" she demanded, glaring at him over the top of her book.

"Calm down, Weaselbee, I'm not going to murder you or something," he muttered.

"You might shove me in the lake," she countered. He grinned.

"You know, that's actually not a bad idea..."

"That's not funny, Scorpius Malfoy! I happen to have a library book with me and if you get it wet-AH!"

While she'd been ranting, Scorpius had nodded to Davies, who sneaked up behind her and grabbed the book out of her hand while Scorpius and Corner pushed her in. All four of the boys (Goldstein was also there) were howling with laughter. That is, until Rose surfaced.

"Help! I-I can't-can't swim!" she gasped, before sinking under again. Scorpius stared in disbelief. No way...

"Is she serious?" Goldstein muttered, looking worried. Nearly half the grounds was staring at them by now, and a black-haired figure was running towards them.

"SCORPIUS!" Rose screamed as she fought her way to the surface once more. Merlin, she wasn't joking. She actually couldn't swim.

And without a second thought, Scorpius shed his robes and shirt and jumped right in. Rose's red hair was visible even in the murky depths of the lake (Merlin, it was deeper than he thought!), and Scorpius swam to her, grabbing her hand in a vice-like grip and propelling them upwards, making sure to get her head above the water first.

When they emerged, Rose was coughing and sputtering and floundering, and people all around the edge of the lake were yelling their names. All of Rose's cousins, all of Scorpius's friends, everyone. Keeping an arm around Rose, Scorpius struck out for the shallows, and when he reached them, he pulled her up onto the sand, not even all the way out of the water and bent in front of her.

"Rose! Rose, talk to me, please, are you alright?" he pleaded, begging her to respond. She leant over the sand and began to cough violently, shaking the water from her lungs. Scorpius patted her back and murmured to her soothingly.

"ROSE!"

Albus Potter was running towards them, followed by James, Hugo, and Molly.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?" Molly screamed, whipping out her wand and aiming it at Scorpius as Albus and Hugo knelt next to Rose. Scorpius held his hands up in surrender.

"I-I pushed her into the lake-I didn't know she couldn't swim!" he gasped as the Weasley girl's hazel eyes narrowed.

"YOU FOUL GIT!" she screamed. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"

"I-I didn't know," Scorpius stammered.

"I HAVE HALF A BLOODY MIND TO TAKE YOUR SORRY ARSE UP TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE RIGHT NOW, MALFOY!" Molly threatened, but a new voice came from behind her.

"No."

Rose Weasley had finally stopped coughing and had gotten to her feet. She walked towards Molly and Scorpius slowly. Scorpius watched her warily, and so did the rest of Hogwarts School.

"Rose...?" Molly began as the redhead approached her. Rose shook her head, her wet curls sending off diamond droplets in the sun. Rose walked right up to Scorpius, who still didn't have his shirt on. There was an extremely tense moment of silence, and then-

"Thank you for saving me," Rose said quietly. "But at the same time, you were stupid enough to push me in. So, thank you, and this is for pushing me in in the first place." And she smacked him across the cheek.

"What the hell-" Scorpius started, holding his, cheek, but Rose whipped around.

"Don't _even, _Malfoy! I know you hate me, it's not exactly a secret, but I can't swim and I never thought you'd try to drown me! If you must know, water is one of my biggest fears, and I _did not _appreciate that!" she snapped, her eyes bright. The whole lakeside was deadly quiet as Rose and Scorpius stared each other down.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius finally muttered, still holding his cheek. Rose just shook her head in disgust, sending off another spray of droplets, before walking back to her cousins and then up to the castle, leaving almost the whole of Hogwarts in shock.

Her cousins and brother all followed her, every one of them still glaring daggers at Scorpius. Except Lucy.

"Rose, you really shouldn't have hit him," she chided as they all entered the entrance hall. Rose whipped around, spraying everyone with lake water once more.

"And why not, Lucy? He nearly killed me! Do you have any idea how scared I was? I could have died! Why shouldn't I slap the bloody git?" she demanded, her blue eyes flashing with anger.

"Because he'll write home to his father and then you really will be in trouble," Lucy replied quietly. Rose shook her head.

"I don't care. He's a git, and damn it, if I'm almost killed because of him, I'm going to smack him." No one dared to say anything more. Rose Weasley could be a little scary when she was angry.

"Why don't you go get cleaned up, Rosie?" Lily suggested. Rose nodded, and left without another word to any of her cousins. Only one of them was brave enough to follow her.

"Rose," Dominique called softly, once they were out of earshot of everyone else. Rose slowed but didn't stop. "Do you want to talk about it?" Dominique asked quietly. Rose nodded, not trusting herself to turn around.

"B-but I don't want anyone to overhear," she stuttered. Dominique nodded.

"Follow me. Try to hold your tears in; we'll be there in a moment."

This was why Rose loved Dominique so much. Dom always had a shoulder to cry on, a chocolate bar when needed, a few wise words, and even just a friendly smile on a hard day. It was a wonder she was still single.

"I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?" queried the eagle knocker as the two girls approached the door.

"A nose," Dominique replied, cool as you please. The door swung open and Dominique led the way upstairs to her seventh year dormitory. She closed, locked, and soundproofed the door before turning to Rose.

"Come sit," Dom invited, gesturing to her bed and Rose took a seat on the sapphire blue comforter. "What's wrong, Rosie?"

And Rose broke down like she did with no other. Rose had always been someone to hide a lot of emotions, but with Dominique she never hid anything. The two cousins were especially close, and Rose was dreading the next two years, when she didn't have a confidant to tell everything to and help her sort through her boy problems. The truth was, Rose often cried over Scorpius, but only in the company of Dominique Weasley.

"It's Scorpius," she sobbed. "Why is he so mean to me? Why does he have to pick on me? I didn't do anything to him, it was just me he decided to randomly pick on in first year! Why? And now he bloody drowns me...oh, Dom, I was so scared! I couldn't see and no one was there to help me...and I was scared, because I couldn't touch the bottom and I thought I'd die, but then he saved me and I slapped him...I don't think that was the right thing to do! I just don't know," Rose admitted, burying her face in her cousin's shoulder and crying her heart out. Dominique simply rubbed Rose's back gently until the girl composed herself.

"Look, Rosie," Dominique began, flipping her golden hair over one shoulder, the curls falling perfectly. "I think the two of you are complete and total opposites, and that's why you clash so much. But I also think you have a lot in common and you just don't realize it. You're like soul mates and polar opposites at the same time," she laughed, shaking her head. "If you ask me, I think you're perfect for eachother. But neither of you realizes that. The two of you see everything that's different, nothing that's the same." Rose's mouth had dropped wide open.

"I AM NOT HIS SOUL MATE!" she finally shrieked, causing her cousin to jump. "I don't even remotely _like _him, how could I ever think of him in that way?"

Dominique simply shook her head and allowed her cousin to rant, cry, and eat entirely too much chocolate for the next half hour, before it was time for classes to start. Before Rose left, Dominique gave her one more piece of advice.

"Try not to argue with him, Rose. Remember, you're pranking him tonight. That'll be enough," she said, winking at her red headed cousin, whose eyes lit up at the thought of pranking back.

"He isn't going to know what hit him," Rose muttered as she left, books under her left arm.

Dominique silently agreed, though in a much different way.

* * *

So at eleven o'clock that night, Rose and Molly Weasley headed for the Great Hall, and Fred Weasley and James Potter headed for the Ravenclaw boys' dorms. The plan was to have a nice, gooey surprise for Scorpius when he woke up, and after that, there would be another one in the Great Hall.

"So, how did you know that Scorpius always puts salt on his bacon, and that'd we coincidentally be having bacon tomorrow morning?" Molly asked casually as the two cousins reached the door to the Great Hall.

"Talked to the house elves, and...er, I don't know. He...he just does," Rose said, shrugging her shoulders like it was the most obvious thing in the world and pulling out a small packet from the inside of her robes. Molly didn't say anything, but in her mind she was comparing Dominique's theory with the evidence Rose had just offered, this afternoon's events, and the one occasion last year that they hadn't screamed at each other. Maybe, just maybe, her part-veela cousin wasn't completely insane.

"Come on," Rose urged. Molly started, not realizing she had stopped in the middle of the Hall. She hurried to join Rose and the two girls snitched the salt shakers from the table.

"_Evanesco_," Molly whispered, and all the salt disappeared. She and Rose filled the containers with lemon juice, before adding the smallest bit of baking soda. Rose replaced the cap and covered the holes in the lid, then slid the shaker back onto its place in the table.

"They'll never know," she whispered with delight. Molly grinned back at her, and the redheads left the Hall stealthily and silently.

* * *

When they got back to Gryffindor Tower, neither James nor Fred had returned yet. Although Molly and Rose often teased and bickered with their cousins, both were still extremely worried when it was midnight and neither was back.

"You don't think they've been caught, do you?" Molly asked nervously. Rose shook her head.

"No points had been deducted from the hourglass when we passed it while leaving. Besides, I'm not too worried about what'll happen if the Scorpion catches them. What's the worst he can do?" she snorted.

"I don't know, Rose," Molly sighed, getting up to resume her pacing again. But twelve fifteen A.M. brought a lovely surprise back with it.

"Nice job, man! I thought we were goners!" James exclaimed, his black hair sticking up in all directions, brown eyes shining. "But you just whipped out that map and-OOF!"

Rose and Molly had both gone running to hug the boys and nearly knocked them over in the process.

"What the heck has gotten into you two?" Fred asked, trying to squirm away from Molly. She only hugged him tighter.

"We were worried!" Rose defended, pulling away from James. "You do realize it's past midnight, right? And you were supposed to be back by eleven forty-five at the latest!" James shook his head and Fred bit back laughter.

"Calm down, Rosie. You really need to lighten up. What's the worst that could've happened to us?"

"You could have gotten caught by a teacher, you could have lost us House points, or you could have been caught by the caretaker," Rose retorted, her blue eyes flashing with anger. James held up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, Rosie. Don't murder me. Hear me out, OK?"

Rose sighed. "Fine."

"Well, Malfoy and his crew were still up when we got there, so Louis took us up to his dormitory. They were up till midnight, and then we needed about ten minutes to rig everything-"

"Only ten minutes?" Molly asked, her eyebrows raised.

"You are talking to two of Hogwarts' best pranksters," Fred replied, smirking. Rose rolled her eyes.

"But anyways, we got lost on the way back cause Louis told us to take an alternate route back to Gryffindor Tower so we could throw Switch off our tail."

"What?" Molly gasped.

"Relax," Fred sighed, rolling his eyes. "We aren't babies! You two are such worrywarts. No wonder you've never had a boyfriend, Mol."

Much to everyone's surprise, Molly turned bright red.

"Something you need to tell me, Molly?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrows. Molly shook her head.

"Go on, James."

"No, I'm done. Switch nearly caught us entering Ravenclaw Tower, but he wasn't able to figure out the riddle, so he gave up and left. Good thing Louis had my Invisibility Cloak. But back to you, Mol. Who's the guy?"

"I'm going to bed. Come on, Rose," Molly declared, grabbing Rose by the hand and leading the way up the staircase to the girls' dorms, where neither James nor Fred could follow.

Once upstairs, Rose started in on her cousin.

"Come on, Mol, tell me who it is!" she begged. "Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Well, because we got together the day of Quidditch tryouts. But we'd been sort of hanging out all of my fourth year, too."

"Cut to the chase, Molly," Rose cut in impatiently. "Who. Is. It?"

"Lorcan Scamander," Molly muttered, blushing furiously and looking down.

"Seriously?" Rose squealed. "He's a sixth year!"

"I know," Molly replied. "But it really doesn't matter to me. He's so sweet, Rose, and he'd never force me to do anything I don't want to. He's just...wonderful, Rose, really," she gushed. Rose smiled at how happy her cousin seemed, though something tugged at her heart. She and Darren Thomas had gone out for about two months last year, and then split up when she discovered he actually didn't like her and just wanted to get to know the famous Potter/Weasley families better.

Still, even though she knew she was much better off without him, something inside her longed to have the happiness James and his girlfriend Alice Longbottom had, as well as Molly and Lorcan had. Rose would never admit it, to herself or to anyone else, but it did make her sort of...lonely. _No, Rose, _she told herself firmly. _Don't think like that. Be happy for Molly. _And she forced the thoughts from her head.

"So," she began in a teasing tone, "has he kissed you yet?"

"No," Molly admitted, looking at her hands. "But he promised to take me to the next Hogsmeade outing...I have a feeling he's gonna do it then."

"Well, you have to let me know if he's a good kisser," Rose answered cheekily. Molly gasped and hit her with a pillow. Rose hit back, and eventually the whole thing escalated into a pillow fight, which only stopped when Elizabeth Thomas threatened to curse them if they didn't shut up. Both girls decided it would be wise to go to bed after that incident.

* * *

The next morning, none of the Weasleys or Potters got up to see the prank pulled on Scorpius. As a matter of fact, they didn't have to. He came to them.

"ROSE WEASLEY, GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

Rose, who had been brushing her hair, sitting on her bed whilst chatting to Molly, jumped and looked at the doorway, startled. She and her cousin had been so involved in their book discussion that both of them had forgotten the prank.

"What's his problem now?" Samantha MacMillian muttered, sounding slightly annoyed as she stalked over to the door. Rose furrowed her brow for a second before she remembered.

"Oh, right. Girls, you might want to come down to see this. It's gonna be good." She grinned mischievously before hurrying out the door, followed by Samantha, Elizabeth Thomas, and Molly.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, it was to find Scorpius Malfoy, in a rage and covered in globs of honey, milk chocolate, and vegetable oil. All four girls burst out laughing at the sight of him.

"THIS IS _NOT _FUNNY!" he shrieked, even as more Gryffindors appeared and started to laugh. Before long, the entire House was laughing at him.

"Yes, Scorpion," Rose finally choked out. "It is hysterically funny!"

"_No_, Weaselbee, it is not!" he shot back. "Imagine waking up and getting out of bed only to have every damn sticky thing you can imagine fall on you!"

"I am imagining it," Rose replied. "That's why it's so funny!"

"So you'd like to have that happen to you?" Scorpius spat, but Rose froze. She hadn't thought of it that way. Her mother had always lectured her on treating others the way you would want to be treated, and Rose had always done her best to live by that principle. She treated others wonderfully-all except Scorpius.

"I-I didn't think-"

"Obviously," Scorpius growled, triumphant. As he turned to leave, Rose felt something flare in her and she spoke before she stopped to think.

"Well then why don't I shove you in the lake and you can prank me and we'll see how you feel then, huh?"

"For the last time, Weasley," Scorpius sighed, exhaling sharply. "I'm sorry, and I didn't know you couldn't swim. I was trying to agitate you."

"Well, it worked," she snapped, feeling irrationally angry with him. "You made a fool of me and nearly killed me in front of the entire school, just like your father did to my mother, father, uncles, and aunts years ago. Merlin, Scorpion, you're such a-a-a Malfoy," she spat the name like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. The entirety of Gryffindor House gasped as one. Scorpius whirled around.

"How dare you?" he hissed. Rose realized she'd gone too far in that instant. "I might be a Malfoy, but that doesn't mean I'm automatically a Slytherin, or a Muggle-born hater, either. Honestly, Weasley, you say your parents tell you not to be prejudiced, but I don't think you listened. You're every bit as prejudiced as the idiots who prosecuted my parents for years as they attempted to rebuild their life. You don't know me, Rose, don't even try." And with that, he turned and stormed out of the portrait hole. Rose watched him go, ashamed of herself, because he was right: She obviously carried some prejudice in her, too. And with that, she Summoned her bathrobe and ran out of the portrait hole and through Hogwarts Castle.

"A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, and I'm the torment of man. What am I?" Rose paused for a moment before the answer came to her.

"Rain," she whispered, then opened the door and hurtled up the stairs.

"Rose!" Dominique Weasley shrieked upon opening the door to find her cousin standing there crying again. "What's the matter? Come in, sweetie, it's OK." Dom led her to the bed and sat her down on it, letting Rose cry while she rubbed her back gently.

After awhile, Rose sat back, hiccoughing, and rubbed her eyes.

"What's the matter, Rose? Did you argue with Scorpius again?" Dom asked gently, handing her cousin a tissue. Rose nodded.

"We pranked him last night, and when he came to Gryffindor Tower this morning, he was really angry. And I got mad, too, and I-I...I called him a Malfoy," she admitted, looking down. Dominique thought she saw where this was going, but she kept quiet.

"And?"

"And he yelled back that just because he was a Malfoy didn't make him a terrible person and that I was prejudiced even after all my mum and dad have done to stop prejudice," Rose sobbed, fresh tears in her eyes. "And he's right, because I am sort of prejudiced, but I don't want to be prejudiced, because it's wrong, and...oh, Dom, I just don't know." She broke down in tears again, and her golden-haired cousin hugged her.

"Don't cry, Rose, please just listen. Everybody in the world carries some sort of prejudice, no matter how hard they try not to. This Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry has been around since ancient times. Something so deeply ingrained in our brains is not going to just disappear over one generation. If we really want to get rid of that, then we're in for the long haul. And for the record, Rose Weasley," Dominique added sternly, raising her cousins' chin so that Rose would be forced to look her in the eye, "you are the least prejudiced person I know. You are sweet and funny and kind and extremely smart, and from what I've seen of Scorpius when he's not around you, he's about the same. He's funny and smart and he's pretty nice, too. Don't you believe one word he says to you, Rosie, because he's just trying to irritate you. You're a wonderful person, OK? Stop crying now, you need to get dressed. You've got Quidditch practice tonight, don't you?"

"Thanks, Dom," Rose muttered, wiping her eyes and sitting up straighter. "You're right. I'm being an idiot. I just...I think it might be that time again," she admitted. Dominique laughed.

"Oh, Rosie. I'm sorry. Here, I've got some chocolate, and just for today, you can borrow some of my Muggle clothing. It's Saturday, after all, so we don't have to wear our uniforms."

"Thanks, Dom. You're the best," Rose sighed, and the two girls set to finding an outfit for Rose to wear. In the end, they settled for a pair of dark navy jeans and a flowy blue tank top the exact color of Rose's eyes. Dominique brushed her cousin's curly red hair until it shone and even talked Rose into wearing some lip gloss and mascara.

"You look amazing!" Dom gasped when she was done. Rose blushed and smiled, staring at the floor. It wasn't often that someone called her pretty.

"Thank you," she whispered, but Dom wasn't done yet.

"Here, take these flats. They should fit you, I wore them when I was your age." Rose took the pair of solid black ballet flats that Dom handed her without complaint. Rose, tough, sporty, and intellectual though she might be, she liked a makeover every now and then as much as any other girl did. No, it wasn't her favorite thing, but every so often she'd put on a nice shirt and a tiny amount of makeup on Saturday.

"Can I look now?" Rose asked, slipping the flats on.

"Go ahead," Dominique replied, closing her makeup kit and grinning. Rose turned and looked into the mirror and gasped.

"How do you _do _that?" she asked her cousin, flabbergasted. "I _never _look pretty!"

"Don't say that, Rosie. You're very pretty," Dominique replied. "And growing up with both Mum and Victoire does have its benefits, you know." She winked, and Rose laughed. "Come on, Rose, let's see what Ravenclaw House thinks of you. And then we've got to get on down to breakfast."

"Breakfast!" Rose gasped. "We really do, Dom! I forgot about the second part of our prank." Rose winked and then proceeded to hurry down the staircase and into the sapphire blue common room. There was a dead silence and every jaw dropped. Rose froze, remembering what she was wearing, and blushed furiously. Dominique followed her down the stairs.

"May I present my cousin, Rose Weasley?" she announced, and a few people laughed. Louis stood up and came over, throwing an arm around Rose's shoulders.

"Dominique had something to do with this, didn't she?" he asked, and Rose nodded.

"But I didn't mind," she added hastily. "It's nice to look good sometimes."

"Oh, Rose, you always look pretty," sighed Wanda Finnigan. "Really." Rose flushed again.

"Thanks, Wanda," she muttered, offering the girl a small smile. Louis turned to talk to Dominique, but Dom held up a finger. She was watching Scorpius Malfoy, who'd just come down the boys' stairs, running a towel through his hair. Surprisingly, he was wearing his uniform trousers and shirt. He stopped dead when he saw Rose.

"Oh, this is gonna be interesting," Louis muttered under his breath to Dominique, who nodded, glancing slyly at Rose, who was still chatting merrily to Wanda. Across the room, Scorpius was still watching her. When he'd first caught sight of her, he'd looked furious, but the longer he watched her, the expression on his face melted into a whole new expression: awe. He was watching Rose with a sort of half-smile on his face, his eyes taking in her red curls and creamy skin.

"Oh, he's got it bad," Louis muttered. Dominique giggled.

"And she doesn't?"

"Fair point," Louis replied. "How long do you think it'll be?" Dominique tapped her chin.

"Easter."

"What? Are you serious? No way!" Louis had spoken louder than he meant to, and Rose, Scorpius, and everyone else in the common room turned to look at him.

"What's the matter, Louis?" Rose asked. Flushing, he simply shook his head and made a quick getaway out the door. Rose glanced at Dominique, who was trying to hold in her laughter. "What's up with him, Dom?" Dominique shook her head, blond curls flying.

"Nothing, Rose. Come on, let's go to breakfast."

And the two cousins set off. Scorpius Malfoy watched them go, staring at them the whole time.

* * *

When Dominique and Rose got to the Great Hall about six minutes later, no one had touched the salt shakers Rose and Molly had pranked last night-probably because Molly had charmed them so that no one but Malfoy could see them.

"So what, exactly, did you do last night?" Dominique muttered as Scorpius entered behind them with his best mate Dan.

"You're about to see," Rose replied, pointing slyly at Malfoy and his friend. Sure enough, Scorpius had just reached for the salt shaker. Still talking to Dan, he attempted to pour some salt into his hand. When nothing came out, he shook a little harder. Finally halting his conversation, he shook the salt shaker as hard as he could-and it exploded.

"OUCH! What the-holy Merlin-WEASLEY!" he screeched as a huge wave of lemon juice foam erupted from the shaker and the cap flew off and hit him on the hand. Rose and all of her cousins started to laugh.

"Yes?" they all yelled as one, which only made them laugh even harder.

"I know it was you, Weaselbee!" Malfoy yelled as he stormed over. By now, even the teachers had stopped to watch (most of them were laughing) and all the Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and even a few Ravenclaws were laughing.

"And where's your proof?" Rose demanded, raising an eyebrow. "Could have been Fred or James."

"OI!" both boys protested. Rose winked at them.

"SEE?" Malfoy bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at her. She sighed.

"Yes, Malfoy, it was me. Intelligent, aren't you?" Despite being covered in lemony foam, he _still_ managed to smirk back at her.

"Yes, I am. Because you see, I am a Ravenclaw and therefore part of the wise ones at Hogwarts. Us Ravenclaws are smart people-"

"Yeah, smartasses," Lily muttered, glaring at him. He continued as though he hadn't heard her, though Molly immediately began to lecture her youngest cousin on the evils of swearing.

"And unlike you, Weaselbee, I am a Ravenclaw. You, on the other hand, are a Gryffindor-"

"And there's no place I'd rather be," Rose retorted, cutting him off. "I'm perfectly happy as a Gryffindor, and besides, you'd hate it if I was in your House, because then we'd have to see each other even more than we do now!"

"If that's how you feel," he replied in an 'I don't care' kind of voice.

"Well, it is," she shot back.

"Good."

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Redhead!"

"Dumb blond!"

"Bookworm!"

"Teacher's pet!"

"SHUT UP!" James roared. Rose and Scorpius stopped their bickering to look at him. "You two are driving me up a bloody wall!" he cried, exasperated. "I mean, sure, it's funny to watch you guys, but after awhile, honestly, enough's enough!"

"But he's so annoying, James, and-"

"Your cousin thinks she knows everything and I have to prove her wrong!"

"Right, because you definitely know everything, Scorpius," Rose replied scathingly.

"I do," he answered back.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"DO NOT!"

"DO TOO!"

"DO NOT!"

"DO TOO!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" James screamed, and he pulled out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm that lasted the rest of the day. He was an instant celebrity in Hogwarts Castle. As a matter of fact, Professor Flitwick was so grateful, he awarded twenty points to Gryffindor. Everyone agreed that had to be a record: A student getting House points for, of all things, using magic on another student. Who knew.

**So, aside from being ridiculously long, it's probably my second favorite or so. I hope you liked it, too! Please leave me a review!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**

**P.S. I'm posting a poll - GO VOTE PLEASE!**

**P.P.S. - Has anyone else read The Mark of Athena? Again, random. Anyways, BYE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! It's been a crazy week/month for me, but it's the weekend (YES) and now I have some time. So I'm updating this and attempting to keep my temper with my family. Er, post the poll, that is. Please check and see if I managed to get it up and vote if it's up! I hope you enjoy this chapter, you'll see some more Rose/Scorpius romance here. :)**

**Disclaimer: NOT in any way J.K. Rowling, nor do I own the rights to this.**

Chapter 7: And the Winner Is...

"Mate, we've got to think of something big this time. Like, _huge. Phenomenally, marvelously _huge!" Dan exclaimed excitedly.

"I know, but first we need to finish this Transfiguration essay," Scorpius muttered in reply, his thoughts on the paragraph he was reading in Intermediate Transfiguration.

"Aw, come on! That's due-"

"In two days, and I still have to write one more paragraph and the conclusion," Scorpius replied, still not listening. "And after that I will prank Weaselbee. I've already got everything planned out in any case."

"Wait, seriously?" Michael Davies asked, looking up from his own essay. Roger Corner leaned in to hear more as well. Scorpius sighed and shook his head, not saying a word.

"What's up with him?" Corner grumbled as the boys sat back in their seats.

"I don't know," Dan replied, sounding slightly peeved. "But he's been pissing me off all week, and I still can't get the reason out of him-"

"I hope you all realize I'm sitting right here and can hear every word you're saying," Scorpius interjected, not looking up from his parchment. The boys turned back to him.

"Oh, we do," Dan assured him, then turned away from him.

"Wonder if it's got anything to do with her prank?" Davies mused.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Michael," Corner lectured. "He could be having issues with something else we don't know about. Sad thing is, he hasn't confided in us yet. Too bad he doesn't realize we'd help him through it." All three boys glanced at Scorpius, who had just finished writing one of the paragraphs for his essay.

"If you must know," he said without looking up, "I'm having girl troubles."

"Poor bloke," Davies said fervently, and none of them spoke again until Madame Pince shooed them all out of the library at 11:00.

"So who's the girl?" Roger Corner asked, smirking. Scorpius shook his head.

"Aw, come on, mate," Michael Davies complained. "We tell you about our girl problems, it's only fair we get some dirt on you." Scorpius shook his head again.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he finally muttered.

"Dominique Weasley," Gregory Goldstein guessed. "I've seen you staring at her."

"What? No! She's...no! I mean, every guy stares at her, she's gorgeous, but...no. Not her," Scorpius assured his friends.

"Yet she's gorgeous?" Corner asked, raising an eyebrow. Scorpius flushed.

"Not as pretty as...someone else," he answered, catching himself before he said her name.

"Come on, Scorp, who is it? I'm your best mate, at least tell me," Dan whined. Scorpius, though amused at his friends' begging, nevertheless stood his ground and refused to tell them, despite their continued pleading all the way to Ravenclaw Tower.

"I'm big as an elephant yet lighter than a feather. What am I?" the knocker inquired as Scorpius and his friends approached it.

"The wind," Michael Davies replied, and the five boys climbed into the Common Room to finish their homework: A feat that kept them up till nearly midnight and reminded them all why they were glad they only had two years left at Hogwarts.

* * *

The next morning, Scorpius was the first one up, rechecking his Potions essay. The Transfiguration essay wasn't due until tomorrow, but his Potions essay was due today and it needed looking over. Indeed, Scorpius found nearly three fatal mistakes-he had misspelled 'aconite' so that it looked like 'at night' and put the wrong measures in twice. He corrected the errors and sat back, satisfied that he might be able to achieve an 'O'. Then Rose Weasley wouldn't be top in _everything_.

Merlin, that Weaselbee girl annoyed him. He didn't even know what it was, but everything about her made him feel...strange recently. The way she sat, her hands folded in her lap, or the way her eyes sparkled when she got excited about something, or the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, and even the way she always took her tea with lemon in the morning. A tingly, bubbly feeling took over him when he saw her at one of these activities, and he'd be forced to look away. He'd put it all down to annoyance, but seeing her looking so darn beautiful on Saturday had made him think differently. Could it be...but no. No, of course not. He was in the middle of a _prank war _with her, after all. And the big operation was set to go off at noon tomorrow. It was going to be an exciting Monday.

"Hey, Scorp."

Startled, Scorpius looked up from his essay (which he hadn't been making much progress on) to see Gregory Goldstein standing in front of him.

"Oh, hey Greg," he replied, taking in his friends' ruffled look.

"You not finish either?" Goldstein inquired, sitting down at the same table as Scorpius.

"Nah, I got it done two nights ago. I just needed to recheck it. Found a few mistakes, as well."

"Excellent," Goldstein answered, checking his watch. "Can I have a look at it? I only need the conclusion done, go on."

But Scorpius shook his head.

"Sorry, mate, but you had two weeks to do that one. Not this time," he finished decisively, rolling up said essay and putting it in his bag. Goldstein stared at him.

"Wait-come on, Scorp!" he protested. "It's just the conclusion!"

"Sorry, Greg," Scorpius answered, shaking his head. "I've got to get dressed and head to breakfast. Just sum up everything you said in the essay and slap a good conclusion sentence on the end. You'll be fine." He clapped his friend on the back. "See you at breakfast!" And off he went up the stairs, Goldstein still staring after him, dumbstruck.

"What the hell happened to him?" Goldstein muttered to himself before pulling out all his books, quill, and parchment.

* * *

Later that day, just after lunch, Scorpius turned away from the rest of his friends to go to Arithmancy. He was the only one of his friends who chose to take that particular subject, so he had to go to class alone. He was about a corridor away when he heard it.

"No! No! Please, give it back-it was my mother's! Please!" cried a young girl's voice. Scorpius froze. She was clearly desperate. It was only when he heard the second voice he started to move.

"Jump for it! Come on, Mudblood, jump for it! Or pay the price," a boy leered evilly. Scorpius shuddered at the meaning behind the boy's words. He knew that boy-Jack Zabini, known rapist throughout Hogwarts. He'd forced his way into so many girls' beds that none would take him willingly anymore. And he was picking on (by the sound of it) a first year.

Sure enough, when Scorpius rounded the corner, he saw a small girl with light brown hair leaping in the air, her hands grasping for something gold in Zabini's hand. Zabini, meanwhile, was leaning casually up against the wall, holding it just above the girl's reach. The poor thing was in tears, her books scattered all around the floor.

"Oi! Zabini!" Scorpius called, striding forward, trying to walk with power. The boy turned.

"Malfoy," he sneered. "Piss off. Nothing to see here."

"I beg to differ," Scorpius returned coldly. "I think there is a very serious situation here that needs to be addressed. Please return the item to it's rightful owner." He glared at the third year boy to let him know he meant business.

"Let me think about that...no," Zabini answered, smirking.

"Ten points from Slytherin. If I have to ask you again, it will be twenty, and after that fifty and a detention. Now let's try again: _Give her the bracelet_," Scorpius snarled, and Zabini faltered.

"Fine. Take it, and be glad Superman was here to save you," he hissed at the girl, who cowered against the wall. He threw the gold chain at her before stalking off. Scorpius glared at him until he was out of sight, then looked back at the first year, who was sitting on the floor, crying, holding the bracelet to her chest.

"H-He broke it," she sobbed, looking up at him with heartbroken gray eyes. "Can you fix it?"

Without a second thought, Scorpius knelt next to her and took the chain from her very gently. "_Reparo_," he muttered, and the chain resealed perfectly.

"There you are!" he announced to the little girl. "All better now. Are you alright? What's your name?"

"T-thank you," she whispered shakily, taking the bracelet as though it were a priceless treasure. "I'm Heather," she added, looking up at him with her big gray eyes.

"Heather. That's pretty. My name is Scorpius. What House are you in?" he inquired as he helped her to her feet.

"H-Hufflepuff. Is that a bad House? Other people say it isn't, but everyone in green tells me I'm stupid for being in it," she confessed tearfully to him. On instinct, Scorpius put his arm around the little girl.

"No, Hufflepuff isn't stupid at all. People just don't realize the amazing qualities it has," Scorpius answered softly, offering Heather his handkerchief. "Everyone in Hufflepuff is amazingly loyal. You stand up for your friends and you never back down. You're really hard workers, which means you don't just sit around and do nothing, you work for everything, which is a good trait to have in life. You're fair and nice to everyone, and people like it when others are nice to them. Hufflepuff is a great House to be in, and I'm sure you're suited to it," he smiled down at Heather, who had stopped crying and was now watching him again, her gray eyes wide with wonder.

"That makes it sound much better," she beamed. "Thank you, Scorpius." Scorpius felt a little flutter in his chest, and suddenly felt protective of Heather. She was such a charmer, with her big gray eyes and her sweet, innocent personality.

"Come on, Heather. Let's pick up your books and get you to class. Where are you headed?" Scorpius asked, bending to retrieve the contents of her bag.

"I'm supposed to be in Transfiguration, but I can't find it," she admitted, fear starting to creep back into her expression.

"That's alright," Scorpius reassured her. "Professor Switch won't mind, everybody gets lost here in their first week. Got everything? Bracelet still on?" Heather nodded. "Then let's go!"

And off they went. When they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, Scorpius hastily explained the situation to an irritated Professor Switch, who calmed down instantly and gave Scorpius a pass to Arithmancy so he wouldn't get in trouble for being late. Scorpius was grateful, but it didn't matter to him. What mattered was the happy look on Heather's face, and the cheery wave goodbye she'd given him.

People didn't know it, but before he came to Hogwarts, Scorpius had had a younger brother. The two brothers were very close, but they younger boy have developed a severe form of cancer. The Wizarding doctors only detected it when it was too late. Scorpius had never really healed from the loss, and had always been particularly protective of the first (and second) years at Hogwarts. Others made fun of him for it, for he'd never told anyone about his brother. But, Scorpius reflected as he took his seat in Arithmancy, sometimes, such as in Heather's case, it didn't matter what people said or thought about you, as long as you made someone happy.

* * *

The rest of the day passed mostly without incident, excluding the daily shouting match with Rose in Transfiguration (which he had won, mostly because the bell rang before she could get a reply out of her mouth) and the food fight in the Great Hall between two Slytherins. Scorpius had merely shaken his head in disgust. How on earth had his father ever been in that House?

"Hey, Scorp, what time are we doing this?" Dan asked, sliding into the armchair next to Scorpius and waving a hand in front of his face. Scorpius gave a start.

"What? Oh, the prank. Um, I was thinking we could rig it early this morning and then set it to go off at noon. She's always there at noon, we're just getting out of Transfiguration about then."

"Nah, we should do it at midnight. It's much easier to set those things not to go off for 24 hours that way," Michael Davies argued, slipping into a seat by Dan. Scorpius shook his head.

"Prefects and Heads will still be out at that point. I don't want to get caught."

"Scorpius, we're rigging an explosion of fireworks and whipped cream to go off at noon tomorrow in the castle. I think people are going to know it's us," Roger Corner countered.

"Fine, then. If we get caught I'm blaming it all on you," Scorpius retorted.

"What?"

"No way!"

"Not cool, man!"

"It's your fault we're in this thing in the first place!"

"How so?" Scorpius inquired, turning to Gregory Goldstein, who had just walked over.

"Well, you insulted her. Next thing we know, she's pranked you, and then you roped us into helping you as well-"

"Do I need to remind you that you were more than willing to assist me after she pulled her first prank?" Scorpius asked through gritted teeth, using all of his willpower not to pull out his wand and hex Goldstein on the spot. The boys all shifted guiltily.

"Well, mate, that was then. Things've changed, the teachers are livid, especially after the food fight this afternoon," Roger Corner protested.

"Well, then if you want to chicken out, that's fine, I'll rig it all by myself. But I might remind you the best friend pledge-united we stand, together we fall. You guys've been through too much with me. If I go down, you're coming with me," Scorpius declared fiercely. His friends stared at him for only a split second before Dan spoke.

"I'm in."

"Thanks, mate," Scorpius muttered. Slowly, one by one, the rest of the boys agreed to go with him as well. "Right. Here's what we're gonna do. And yes, Michael, we're doing this at four thirty this morning." Michael grunted but did not argue as Scorpius began to explain his plan.

* * *

At approximately four thirty that morning, Scorpius, Dan, Michael, Roger, and Gregory could be found outside the Transfiguration classroom, whispering excitedly as they pulled out bricks in the wall and slid objects in before replacing the bricks.

"This is going to be so epic," Dan laughed as he rigged a whipped cream explosion.

"I know!" Goldstein agreed enthusiastically. "She isn't gonna know what hit her."

"I think she'll figure it out fairly quickly," Scorpius remarked dryly, and the five boys shared another chuckle.

"She'll probably pull out her wand and start jinxing you left, right, and center," Michael sniggered.

"Yeah, mate, make sure all vital organs are covered up, or they will be subject to Rose Weasley's wrath," Roger joked. "And honestly, that girl can be pretty darn scary when she wants to be."

"Tell me about it," Dan replied, shivering as he put the final touches on the contraption he'd conceived. "The way she walks down the halls can scare you to death-especially if she's as mad as she was today."

Scorpius grinned devilishly.

"That was one of my better arguments with her. She was trying to focus on something and I wasn't helping. She did the wrong thing and got points docked off Gryffindor. Then, of course, she started yelling at me, but I got in the last snide answer before I ducked out of sight. That's why she was so angry this afternoon," he revealed. The four other boys stared at him.

"I'll be sure to mention that at your wedding," Dan finally muttered. Scorpius sputtered indignantly.

"Excuse me? I do not plan on marrying the red-haired know-it-all!" he protested over Roger and Michael's sniggering. "All we ever do is argue! What makes you think I could possibly like her that way?"

"Everything," Dan answered quietly. "What does Rose always have in her tea at breakfast, Michael?"

"I-er-um," Michael stuttered. "How should I know?"

"Why don't you ask Scorpius what it is she takes in her tea?" Dan suggested innocently, carefully avoiding looking Scorpius in the eye. Michael repeated the question to Scorpius.

"Lemon," Scorpius answered tightly. "She always has lemon in her tea."

"And you know this because?" Roger Corner asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not really."

"No, it is obvious," Scorpius said defiantly. "You lot just don't notice it. I bet you others do. Like her cousins, maybe."

"Yesterday I asked her what wood your wand was made out of," Goldstein said casually. Scorpius tried to keep himself from appearing too interested.

"And what did she say?"

"Cherry," Goldstein replied lightly. "The correct answer of course. She tried to pass it off as the result of sitting next to you all these years, but I think it's something different."

At his words, Scorpius stood abruptly.

"Right, then I think it's fully done," he declared. "Let's head back to bed and no, we are not discussing any more of the Weasleys!"

And with that, Scorpius turned on his heel and lead the way back to Ravenclaw Tower. He didn't say another word to his friends, simply got into bed and lay there, thinking of the many events the next day was sure to bring.

**This prank is gonna be my best one yet, by the way. I made it up entirely by myself, so I hope you like it. Depending on reviews I'll post sometime next week! So please review! And vote in the poll, if it works! Thanks!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everybody! I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO (x1000) sorry! I've had a CRAZY month and I've barely had any time to write/post, but thankfully I have an hour of free time, so I'm updating not one, but TWO chapters! I'm excited! I hope you all like this one, I personally think it's pretty great :)**

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Harry. Potter.**

Chapter 8: Trouble

"Rose! Get _up!_" Molly shrieked in frustration, hitting her sleeping cousin with a pillow. In an instant, Rose's blue eyes flew open and she sat straight up.

"What? What? What time is it? Did the Scorpion prank back? What's wrong?" she asked, groping at thin air for the hangings, not realizing they were already open.

"Nothing. It's four in the morning. I just wanted to talk about Lorcan," Molly admitted, flushing slightly and sitting on the edge of Rose's bed. For a split second, Rose just stared at her. The two cousins had done their homework alone in the library for three hours yesterday, and Molly hadn't said anything then.

"You choose to talk about this now?" Rose inquired, sitting up straighter and rubbing her eyes. Molly sighed.

"I'm sorry. It's just...he said he doesn't want to go to Hogsmeade with me anymore. He wants to stay at Hogwarts instead."

"Why is this a problem? You guys would have some alone time, no one watching you. Get to know each other better. It's way easier to talk to someone sitting by the lake with no one near you then scream across the table at them in the Three Broomsticks, you know," Rose pointed out. Molly sighed.

"I know, but I really wanted to go to Hogsmeade. You and your war with Scorpius have run me down on Uncle George's products, and Dad promised he'd be in Hogsmeade as well this weekend. He wanted to meet Lorcan. Besides, I've been craving a Butterbeer lately," Molly admitted, flopping backwards on Rose's bed.

"Why don't you just go down to the kitchens and get one, then?" Rose asked. "You know those house-elves, they'll get you anything. Right helpful little buggers."

"Rose!" Molly reprimanded. "Your mother's worked hard to ensure their freedom, you shouldn't say things like that!"

"I know, but honestly, I'm with Dad on this one. They're happy, let them be! But I know better than to argue with Mum by now," Rose sighed. "Learned that lesson a long time ago."

"That's beside the point," Molly replied, waving her hand. "The point is, I really want to go to Hogsmeade, but Lorcan absolutely _insists_ we stay here."

"Did he give you a reason why you just _have_ to stay here?" Rose inquired. Molly shook her head.

"No. He won't tell me," she admitted.

"Then you just tell him that if he doesn't have a legitimate reason, that you're going anyways. Be your own person, Mol. He may be a sweet guy, but that doesn't mean he can't be a right dick at times," Rose reminded her cousin.

"I know," Molly sighed. "I guess you're right, Rose. I'll ask him why it is we just _have _to stay here."

"Good for you, Mol," Rose replied, trying to hide a huge yawn behind her hand. Molly noticed, however.

"Let's go back to bed. Sorry for waking you up," she apologized sheepishly. Rose half-smiled.

"That's what friends-and cousins-are for, Mol. Now go to sleep."

And they did.

* * *

The next day passed very peacefully for both Rose and Molly. They got back their Charms test, and both had achieved perfect scores. Gryffindor was currently in the lead for the House Cup, which always improved their moods. And, most importantly for Molly, the house-elves served Butterbeer as an option for breakfast that morning. Rose took one look at the drink and burst out laughing.

"What?" Lily asked, watching her older cousin rolling around in her chair.

"Nothing," Molly replied grumpily.

"It's obviously something," Albus countered. "I haven't seen Rosie laugh that hard since Scorpius came in covered in goop."

The memory of this incident did nothing to stop Rose's laughter, which only doubled.

"What's the joke?" Fred inquired, leaning across Elizabeth Thomas to speak to his cousins. "I like a good laugh."

"We don't know," Albus answered. "Rose can't tell us and Molly's refusing to speak."

"We had a, er, conversation...about...Butterbeer...at four in the morning last night," Rose gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Four in the morning? Why didn't you invite me?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Because it was four in the morning! You should have been sleeping!"

"I was! But I love Butterbeer! I would have gladly come up for a conversation about Butterbeer!"

"Well, that was only a very small part of our discussion," Rose admitted, giggling and glancing at Molly, who turned red. Fred snorted.

"And what else, exactly, might that discussion have consisted of?"

"Pranks," Rose replied easily.

"Right," Albus remarked, rolling his eyes. "You're a terrible liar, Rose."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him, and talk moved on to other things.

That afternoon in Transfiguration, Professor Switch decided that they were ready to start human transfiguration earlier than he expected. So, after lots of notes and diagrams, he finally gave them the incantation and told them to attempt to change the color of both eyebrows.

"Not to worry," he assured the class when several looked worried, "I've got the countercharm all ready. I've been teaching for about seventeen years, and there's never been a student incident with this that I couldn't fix."

Not too many people looked very reassured about that, but nonetheless, people started muttering the incantation and pointing their wands at themselves. Not much happened, as the concentration was more on _not _changing themselves than on actually changing themselves.

As per usual, fifteen minutes into the lesson, Rose successfully changed her eyebrows to a bright blue color. Professor Switch was delighted, but Rose wasn't. The countercharm was even more complex, and would likely take her the entire lesson to do.

Five minutes after that, Scorpius's eyebrows were a bright green, and he and Rose were sitting at the same table (again), attempting to figure out the countercharm, which was enormously complex.

"I think," Rose began, "that we should get Professor Switch to do this for us."

"He said he would at the end of class," Scorpius muttered. "I know we can get this before then! What do you have deciphered?"

Rose eyed him suspiciously, but, figuring she had nothing to lose, shoved her notes across the table at him. He ran an eye down them, then compared them to his notes.

"I think...I think we've got it, Weaselbee," he announced in a stunned voice.

"Are you serious?" Rose gasped, getting up to look over his shoulder.

"Yes. Look. I've got this part of the charm figured out, and you have the other part. If we just connect the pieces, it comes to...there!"

"We did it!" Rose exclaimed. "Here, let me try it." She pulled out her wand, moved it in a figure eight, then twirled it above her head before bringing it back down to point at her eyebrows and yelling, "_Ad normalis!_"

There was a flash of white light and Rose's eyebrows returned to normal. There was a stunned silence as everyone stared at her, then the class burst into applause.

"I am impressed, Miss Weasley," Professor Switch commented, coming over to their table. "I've never had a student figure out the countercharm in just one class period. I applaud you for that."

Rose blushed.

"Thank you, Professor Switch, but I must admit, I didn't do all the work. Scorpius did half of it," she admitted, gesturing to the notes.

A stunned silence filled the classroom. Never before had Rose Weasley admitted that Scorpius Malfoy could take credit for anything. This was definitely a first.

"Well...that's wonderful," Professor Switch finally choked out. "Mr. Malfoy, why don't you try the countercharm?"

Scorpius nodded and stood.

"_Ad normalis!_" One bright flash of light later, and Scorpius was back to normal as well. The class just stared at Rose and Scorpius, the Professor included. For a moment, no one seemed to know what to do. Rose could feel her already red face getting even redder. She chanced a half-glance at Scorpius and saw that he, too, was flushed a light pink.

"Well," sighed Alice Longbottom from the back of the class, "She is the daughter of Hermione Weasley."

"And he is the son of Draco Malfoy," Gerald Flint, Marcus Flint's son, quipped. Scorpius's expression darkened.

"Don't say that," Rose snapped at Flint. The entire classrooms jaws dropped. Luckily, the bell rang at that exact moment, and Rose and Scorpius quickly packed up their belongings and left, having restored their eyebrows to the correct color.

As they hurried along the corridor, Scorpius remembered the prank that he and his friends had set to go off, and found that, suddenly, he didn't want Rose to get hit with it.

"We-Rose!" he called, noticing that she was nearly in the prank zone. "Hey, ROSE!" She still didn't turn.

"Scorpius, what are you doing?" Dan called from behind him.

"Rose, watch out!" Molly squealed, just as Scorpius lunged towards her.

It all happened in the space of about a second. Just as the hand on the clock reached noon, the whipped cream explosions, fireworks, and everything else Scorpius and his pals had rigged last night exploded-all over a group of third year Hufflepuffs, sixth year Slytherins, five of the faculty members(who were passing), and Rose and Scorpius themselves. The entire hallway went dead silent, watching the eighteen people stand, shell-shocked, blinking as the fireworks filled the hallway with smoke and sparks, and as Rose and Scorpius stared at each other. For a full minute, no one moved. And then the dam broke.

"DAMN YOU SCORPIUS MALFOY!" Rose screamed, making the entire hallway jump. "YOU FOUL, LOATHSOME, EVIL LITTLE COCKROACH! I HATE YOU! FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, I WAS NICE TO YOU IN TRANSFIGURATION AND _THIS _IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? UGH! I HATE YOU! SO MUCH!" By now, there were tears in her eyes, tears of humiliation as the occupation of the hallway began to either snigger, openly stare or roll their eyes.

"OH, YEAH, YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, WEASLEY!" Scorpius yelled back. "YOU'VE PRANKED ME JUST AS BAD, I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO PRANK YOU BACK! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PLAY WITH FIRE! YOU GET BURNED!"

"Oooooo," chorused the watching students.

"JUST GO AWAY, MALFOY, I HATE YOU!" Rose screamed, wiping whipped cream and tears from her cheeks. A particularly large glob landed in her palm, and without second thought, she threw it at him. It hit him, smack on the face. Without even stopping to think, he grabbed a bunch off the floor and chucked it right back at her. She ducked, and it hit Professor Firie, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Head of Slytherin House, right in the face.

Dead silence fell again as everyone watched the witch who so resembled Professor McGonagall. She reached up and very slowly wiped the whipped cream from her face before speaking.

"All Weasleys, all Potters, Mr. Malfoy, and anyone who was in any way involved with this prank or any before it will follow me _now_."

To their credit, every single Weasley (Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Fred, Roxanne, and Hugo), every single Potter (James, Albus, and Lily), and all of Scorpius's friends (Dan Thomas, Roger Corner, Michael Davies, and Gregory Goldstein) all came forward to stand next to Rose or Scorpius. Even Rose's dorm mates (Elizabeth Thomas and Samantha MacMillian) came forward. For a split second, Professor Firie looked amazed at the eighteen students now standing in front of her. Then she turned on her heel and led them all to her office. Not a single one of them considered for a moment running away.

"So," Firie began once they were all in her office, standing in front of her desk. "I am to understand that Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy started a prank war because of an insult he gave to her?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Everyone nodded. "And that this has been going on for nearly three weeks now?" More nodding. "And all eighteen of you were involved in one way or another?" They nodded once more. For a moment, the witch stared at them all. "And do you all realize how ridiculously stupid and immature this was?" Once more, the entire group nodded, though Rose kept her eyes lowered, tears streaming down her face. Only Scorpius noticed.

"Well, then, I believe that the appropriate punishments will be as follows. Every Wednesday night for five months, you will assist Mr. Filch with anything he needs you to do, and you will do so without complaint. You will do so in partners, as well. Dominique, you will be with James. Louis, you will be with Lucy. Molly, you will be with Fred. Roxanne, you will be with Albus. Hugo, you will be with Lily. Daniel Thomas, you will be with your sister Elizabeth. Roger Corner and Michael Davies will be together. Gregory Goldstein and Samantha MacMillain will be together. And Rose and Scorpius will be together." There was an outcry of protest.

"But, Professor-"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Five months?!"

"You _can't_-"

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Miss Potter. I was not finished in any case. Both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor will lose one hundred and fifty points, and-" she raised her voice to be heard over the noises of protest, "-I will be writing to your families tonight to inform them of your actions."

At these words, Rose burst into tears. Never in her whole life had she felt so terrible. Scorpius humiliated her in front of the entire school, she had detention for five months, she'd gotten all of her cousins in trouble, she'd lost Gryffindor a hundred and fifty points, and now her parents were to be told of her actions. At this point in her life, Rose Weasley was ashamed of herself and wanted desperately to hide from what tomorrow might bring.

"Shh, Rose," Dominique whispered, stepping forward to hug her cousin. "It's gonna be OK. Calm down, sweetie."

Rose managed to calm herself, and Professor Firie, looking at her with distaste, uttered, "You may go. All but Miss Dominique Weasley." And Rose ran. Everyone looked for her (even Scorpius), but only Dominique was able to find her and bring her back (late at night) in slightly better spirits.

* * *

The next morning was Saturday morning, and Molly just didn't have the heart to wake Rose up that morning. As compared to the crying, blubbering mess she'd been last night, she looked relatively peaceful while still asleep. And so Molly left her be, reading at the end of her bed until Rose awoke around nine in the morning.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Molly greeted as Rose slowly opened her bright blue eyes and sat up.

"Good morning, Mol," she replied sleepily. Molly watched her warily as the events of the previous day started to return to her. In seconds, Rose's brow was furrowed and she was close to tears, hyperventilating.

"Hey, Rose, Rose, Rose-calm down!" Molly exclaimed, getting out of bed and sitting next to Rose, patting her back. "What's the matter?"

"I've never, ever gotten in trouble before, Molly!" Rose gasped. "Mum and Dad are going to be so angry with me!" She buried her head in her hands.

"Don't worry, Rose-I'm in the same boat. But don't freak out, OK-your parents love you no matter what. You know that, right? Besides, your dad'll think it's brilliant, it's your mum that'll be angry."

"I know," Rose sobbed. "I just didn't...and now we've got detention for a five months and we lost a hundred and fifty points and it's all my fault!"

"Funny, I seem to recall Louis saying the same thing last night," Molly muttered, then let go of Rose, fetched their bathrobes, and helped Rose get hers on.

"W-Where are we going?" Rose inquired, mopping her eyes with her sleeve.

"To an emergency family meeting," Molly replied as the two girls made their way to Ravenclaw Tower and answered the riddle.

"Hey, guys," Louis greeted them with a hollow smile as the two redheaded girls flopped into chairs. "How's it going?"

"Not so good," Rose answered, tearing up again. Dominique moved to sit on the arm of her chair.

"Same," Louis sighed, putting his head in his hands. "If only I hadn't suggested this in the first place. We'd all be a hell of a lot happier right now."

"Don't blame yourself, Louis, we all agreed to it," Lily sighed, as James' stomach growled loudly. "James!"

"What? I'm hungry! Can we have this meeting sometime else? Who knows when that little Malfoy twit will get up and besides, Rose and Molly aren't even dressed!"

In the end, the cousins agreed to have breakfast and meet down by the lake, so Rose and Molly trudged back upstairs to their dormitories to change into an outfit for the day and then meet back up in the Great Hall. By the time the cousins arrived, Molly had talked Rose into a significantly better mood. Of course, this mood would not last long.

The moment the two curly-haired redheads sat down at the table, the post came flying in. Each of the eighteen students who had been involved with the prank war scanned the incoming owls anxiously. Sadly, most found the thing they were dreading.

Scorpius was lucky enough to simply receive a normal letter, but everyone else involved in the prank had Howlers. Rose paled as she stared at hers, and Albus became slightly worried she would faint.

"Shall we all open them at once?" Roxanne suggested in a shaky voice. "That way no one has to hear exactly what their mum said?" Each Weasley-Potter nodded as they took the Howlers from their respective owls.

"Oh my God," Lucy whimpered, "it's smoking!" And so it was.

"On the count of three, then," Hugo whispered. "One."

"Two," Fred continued.

"Three!" James said, and they all tore open the envelopes and stuffed their fingers in their ears. So did the rest of the hall, as the Weasley women (and Ginny) were known for their loud voices.

So loud was the explosion from each Howler that dust began to shake from the ceiling, and everyone in the Hall winced. The stones in the hourglasses were rattling, and so were the plates and spoons. No one could really hear anything any of the women were saying (which was the whole point), but snatches were occasionally heard.

"_NEVER _WOULD HAVE EXPECTED IT OF YOU-"

"ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED-"

"TERRIBLE THING TO DO, I DON'T KNOW _WHAT _YOU WERE THINKING-"

It seemed to go on forever. Rose, Molly, Lucy, and even Lily were in tears by the end of it. Unfortunately for James, Ginny had yelled the most at him and his continued for a good two minutes even after the others had ended. When at last, a ringing silence fell, everyone simply sat, shell-shocked, in their chairs. No one really knew what to say. Some people were honestly wondering if their ears still worked. All of the staff and students could agree on one thing, though-as coveted and famous as the Weasley-Potter family was, it was never a good idea to get on the bad side of any of the mothers.

**No, it's not a good idea. Anyways, I hope you liked it. I'm going to update the next chapter now. Leave me a review, pretty please? It's my birthday today and I managed not to burn dinner. So I'm pretty happy with myself right now, and a review just might possibly make me even happier :)**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody! Second chapter of the day, I hope you all like it. I liked writing this chapter. Anyways, not much to say, but as always, reviews are welcome and thanks to those who have been reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine...darn.**

Chapter 9: Water Wars

The next three days passed quite calmly for the Weasley-Potters. No pranks, no teasing, no nothing. Not even an argument between Rose and Scorpius (who were now refusing to speak to each other). Instead, they all worked as hard as they could, for they all knew that detention on Wednesday evening would last long into the night, as they were working for Filch, and no one (least of all Rose, Dominique, Molly, Albus, and James) wanted to get behind on their schoolwork. Making it up would, quite literally, be hell. So, most unusually, Hogwarts was quiet until Wednesday evening, the beginning of the five-month-long detention for the Potter-Weasley clan, Scorpius and his pals, and Elizabeth Thomas and Samantha MacMillian. Needless to say, the whole school was pretty interested in how it was gonna play out.

"People really need something new to talk about," Lily said in disgust after overhearing Caroline Brown and Hannah Parkinson taking bets on whether or not Rose and Scorpius would kiss that night.

"They do," Rose growled. Lily and Molly had already had to keep her from hexing five different people in the hallways that day.

"Relax, Rose," Dominique whispered. She had come up to the Gryffindor Common Room to do her homework with Molly, Lily, and Rose. "They're just trying to provoke you."

"It's working," Rose shot back, and Dominique smiled gently.

"You know the truth. Don't let them bother you," she said softly. Rose inhaled and exhaled deeply, then went back to her homework, a slight smile on her face. The girls worked in silence until seven thirty, and then they rose, seeing as their detentions were at eight, and made their way back to Gryffindor Tower, where the rest of their cousins (regardless of House) were waiting.

"I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up," Albus remarked as the four of them entered via the portrait hole.

"Of course we were!" Molly replied, looking scandalized. "We'd've been in even worse trouble if we didn't show up for this!"

"Amen, sister," Dominique replied, lounging on the couch.

"And Merlin knows we don't need any more Howlers," James sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I had a migraine for the whole day after that." The cousins all murmured their assent.

"Shall we go, then?" Roxanne asked after a few moments of silence. "It's seven forty-five."

"Might as well," Lily sighed, and so they left the cozy Common Room and made their way to the darkening entrance hall. Scorpius and his friends were already there, and so was Argus Filch.

"Well, come on, then," he hissed at them as Elizabeth and Samantha made their way down the stairs. "Partner up."

Slowly, everyone moved to stand with their partners. Dominique with James, Louis with Lucy, Molly with Fred, Roxanne with Albus, Hugo with Lily, Dan Thomas with Elizabeth, Roger Corner with Michael Davies, Gregory with Samantha, and Rose with Scorpius.

"Now, Dominique and James will be cleaning the bedpans in the hospital wing. No magic, no complaints," he added nastily as Dominique wrinkled her nose and James opened his mouth. "Louis and Lucy will be cleaning out my filing cabinets. Molly and Fred will be helping Professor Switch. Roxanne and Albus will be assisting Professor Slughorn with his potion brewing. Hugo and Lily will be polishing the trophies in the trophy room. Daniel and Elizabeth will be helping clean the Arithmancy steps; there was an accident today. Roger and Michael Corner are helping Madame Hooch clean out the old broomshed. Gregory and Samantha are helping Professor Longbottom with the new plants he's got, and Rose and Scorpius are cleaning the frog brains off the walls of the third year Potions classroom. Go on, get busy," the caretaker snapped, and everyone parted, most seething about what they had to do.

"I can't believe him," Rose muttered under her breath, furious. "Those poor frogs, he knows how I hate using animals in Potions and now I've got to do this."

"Will you just shut it, Weaselbee? I don't like this any more than you do," Scorpius snapped back through gritted teeth. Rose shot him a dirty look but fell silent. Upon arriving at the dungeons, both winced at the mess that lay before them. It was quite extensive and Rose was sure they were going to be here long into the night. Good thing all of her homework was done.

"Well, let's get to it," Scorpius sighed, gesturing to the mops and buckets that stood waiting for them by the door. Rose swallowed hard but grabbed a bucket and headed to the opposite wall, where there was the least amount of frog brains.

"Wait a second. Why do I have to do the one with the most?" Scorpius demanded. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Why do you have to be such a wimp and complain?" she shot back.

"Why did you have to get us in trouble?" he countered. Rose whipped around to face him.

"Why did you have to be such a git and insult me that day?"

"Why can you not take constructive criticism?"

"That wasn't criticism and you know it, Scorpius!" Rose screeched. "You were being mean to me, you little bastard!"

"Yeah, and you're never mean to me," he scoffed.

"Not as mean as you are!"

"SHUT IT!" came the combined voices of Roxanne and Albus from next door. A second later, Roxanne appeared in the doorway.

"Will the two of you stop arguing over who is the meanest and actually get your job done? It's been five minutes and you're driving Albus, Slughorn and I mad! Do your job and get out of the other's presence!" And she stormed out.

Rose and Scorpius shared an awkward glance before each turned away and began to work. And work. And work. By the time Rose finally finished with her wall, she was sick to her stomach and Scorpius was only half done. Rose hesitated. They still had to get the ceiling done, and the desks, too. But she knew that if the two of them worked together, they'd do much better than when they didn't. So she went over to join him, scrubbing at the grayish material on the wall.

"What? Didn't think I could handle it?" he inquired, smirking at her as she rubbed at a particularly stubborn piece of brain.

"No, you git, I'm-ugh!-trying to get us out of here sooner," Rose grunted. In her anger, she slammed her washrag into the bucket so hard that a bunch of sudsy water flew all over him. Both of their eyes widened in shock. For a second, neither of them moved. Then Scorpius splashed her back.

"Wait-why did you do that?" Rose sputtered.

"Because you did it to me!" Scorpius retorted.

"You git, that was an accident! Real mature now, aren't we? Two wrongs don't make a right, Scorpion!"

"Now who's the mature one?"

"I'm fairly certain it's still me!" Rose shot back, splashing him again. Scorpius spat out a mouthful of water and splashed her as well. Rose retaliated, and pretty soon both had their wands out, shooting water at each other.

"_Auga-_ARGH!" Scorpius yelled as Rose dumped the entire bucket of washing water on him. As a result, she got hit in the face with his Water Charm. She pulled out her own wand and shot it right back at him.

"You suck, Weaselbee!" Scorpius shouted right after Rose hit him in the face for the third time.

"No I don't-I'm just better than you," she taunted, dodging his curse.

"Better at what? How about nothing!" Scorpius retorted, forgetting his wand entirely.

"Excuse me? Do I need to remind you that I was the first person to successfully change the color of my eyebrows in Transfiguration?"

"Do I need to remind you that I was the one who figured out how to change them back?"

"Do I need to remind you that I figured out half of that spell? Without me, your eyebrows would still be neon green," Rose snapped.

"Yeah, well, yours would be blue," Scorpius replied.

"Well, without you we wouldn't be here!"

"If you'd never gone out for the Quidditch team we wouldn't be here!"

"If you weren't so terrible to me we wouldn't be here!" Rose yelled, and at that exact moment, Professors Firie, Switch, and Longbottom burst into the dungeon.

"What the _devil _is going on here?" Professor Longbottom demanded, looking at the water lying in puddles all over the floor, the frog brains dripping from the ceiling, and Rose and Scorpius soaking wet. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Never mind. I don't want to know," he muttered.

"Well, I do. What happened, Miss Weasley?" Professor Firie asked.

"Well, we were cleaning the walls and I went to help him out and I accidentally tipped over my water bucket. Scorpius thought I was trying to hit him on purpose and splashed me. And, erm, it sort of escalated from there," Rose admitted sheepishly.

"Behavior of this sort could very well result in losses of your Prefect badges and removal from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Miss Weasley. I trust you were well aware of this?" Professor Firie inquired, her nostrils flaring. Rose's jaw dropped and her eyes filled with tears.

"Hey!" Scorpius objected, stepping in front of her. "Don't get angry at her. I'm just as much to blame here. I splashed her back, I initiated this. I provoked her into starting this prank war. If anything, I should be the one punished."

Without exception, everyone in the room was completely shell-shocked. Scorpius Malfoy, standing up for Rose Weasley? Even among the staff members, it was unheard of. For a moment, no one seemed to know what to do. Then Professor Longbottom spoke.

"I hardly think that will be necessary, Professor Firie," he said sternly. "However, I do believe they will both need to be taken to the Headmaster...once they've finished cleaning up this room, of course."

Professor Firie, disgraced, left the dungeons quickly, her robes sweeping behind her and Professor Switch on her heels. The moment she was gone, Rose ran to her Uncle Neville and hugged him.

"Oh, Neville, I was so scared! I've worked so hard to become Prefect and now I almost had it taken all away! What was I thinking?" she sobbed into her uncle's arms.

"Calm down now, Rose. You know old Firie's just jealous of the brilliant witch you are. That's why I said I'd send you to Flitwick, you know he'll be fair. You won't lose your badge, Rose, but if you keep at this...no one can stop you from arguing, but you do need to keep the fights small," he finished, looking at Scorpius over the top of Rose's head. He nodded quickly.

"I'm sorry, Professor Longbottom," Scorpius said. "We'll just finish cleaning up." Neville nodded and left the dungeon, promising to wait for them at the top of the stairs. Rather than waste time, Rose pulled out her wand and began to siphon the frog brains off the ceiling, while Scorpius finished the wall they'd been working on. Together, they managed to get the room clean in about five minutes.

"Wait, Scorpius," Rose called, just as he made to leave the dungeon.

"Yes?" he asked, not turning around. Rose didn't answer right away, and finally he got so annoyed that he turned around to see what she was doing. She was standing about ten feet away, twisting her hands together nervously.

"I-I just wanted to say thanks," she mumbled. "For standing up for me when Professor Firie-"

"It was no problem," Scorpius responded in a gentle tone. "I don't like her much, either."

"She's just so mean!" Rose exhaled. "Why's she gotta be so mean?"

"She's bitter," Scorpius replied savagely. "Doesn't have any famous students to brag of. Everyone knows we're the top students in the school, and all of the Potter-Weasleys are in Gryffindor, except Dominique, Louis, and...what's her name?"

"Victoire," Rose supplied, and Scorpius nodded.

"Victoire. They were all Ravenclaws. She just wants one of her students to do as well as we do."

"That would make sense, especially the way people treat Slytherins since the war. I really think all this prejudice is wrong," Rose responded as they made their way out of the dungeons.

"I know," Scorpius replied through gritted teeth. "It's so overrated."

Rose realized her mistake too late.

"Scorpius-I didn't mean it like that! I don't think any less of you or your family, I promise! And not just because Mum and Dad told me to, because I've seen reports of what your father does and he's obviously changed a lot since the war!"

Scorpius stopped dead and stared at Rose, surprised.

"Do you really believe that?" he queried. She nodded. "Well, you'd be the first," he muttered as they approached Professor Longbottom.

"Well, come on, then. It's nearly eleven and both of you have lessons tomorrow," the professor said as he led them away from the dungeons. Rose and Scorpius both followed him quietly, hoping that Professor Flitwick would, indeed, be fair.

"Sugar Quills," Professor Longbottom said when they reached the bottom of the staircase. The entryway to the Headmaster's office was revealed, and Neville sent Rose and Scorpius up there by themselves. He stood for a moment after they disappeared, and then headed back to his office.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the tiny little Headmaster squeaked from behind his desk.

"Well, er, you see," Rose began, but found herself unable to admit to what she and Scorpius had done. So he took over.

"Weasel-Rose and I had a water fight," he explained bluntly. "And Professor Longbottom brought us to see you."

"I see," Flitwick replied slowly. "And this was during your detention?" Both nodded. "Well, I believe the school disciplinary code dictates that I warn you of removal from the Quidditch team, should you do anything of the sort again," he informed them, looking quite serious. Rose gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, Professor Flitwick, we're so sorry, please don't-"

"This is only a warning, Miss Weasley," the Headmaster squeaked kindly, holding up his hand. "And, because you are both star students and you have had enough trouble these past few weeks, I will refrain from writing to your parents." Rose exhaled, her knees going weak. Thank Merlin. She really didn't her parents informed of _this_, too.

"Thank you, sir," Scorpius gasped, feeling just as relieved as she was. The professor smiled kindly at his star students.

"You may go. Go straight to your dorms, I will attend to the mess in the dungeons. You need your sleep," Professor Flitwick instructed over their objections. "Go." And they did.

"I thought we'd had it," Scorpius admitted in a low voice as the two of them walked down the corridor.

"So did I," Rose replied, exhaling. "Thank Merlin he went easy on us."

"I know. Not even an extra detention or anything! I was pretty surprised," Scorpius remarked.

"Same. And he didn't even write to our parents! I really don't need anything else on my plate right now," Rose sighed. Scorpius looked at her.

"What do you have to stress over? You get everything done on time and you're extremely well-liked by everyone in the school!"

"It's hard to get all my homework done what with Quidditch twice a week and now this," Rose exclaimed. "I'm doing my best, but some days it's just overwhelming."

"I know," Scorpius answered. "Some days I'm lucky to be done with my homework by ten."

"How do you do that?" Rose demanded. "There are days I'm lucky to be done by two!"

"I procrastinate a lot," Scorpius admitted with a laugh. "If I don't have time to do it, then I'll do it tomorrow, and so on."

Rose chuckled. "That's not a very good habit to get into, you know."

"Well, some days I don't have a choice. Nor do you. I suppose that's just part of being a fifth year, but it sucks," Scorpius sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Rose was momentarily caught off guard by how good he looked...wait. Did she seriously just think that? Scorpius Malfoy did not look _good_...did he? Well, there wasn't really any point in denying that he was cute, but for Merlin's sake, he was her sworn enemy! She shouldn't be having these thoughts!

"Rose?"

"Wh-what? Sorry, I zoned out," she said hastily.

"I said, good luck in the game on Saturday," Scorpius repeated, looking into her eyes.

"Thanks," Rose smiled. "You too."

"Oh, and Weaselbee," he called as she turned away. "Try not to get hurt. Your family's quite notorious for it, and I don't fancy having to do detention by myself on Wednesday."

"Wow, thanks, Scorpion. I didn't know you cared," Rose replied sarcastically.

"Just a little," he answered quietly before walking away, leaving a shell-shocked Rose alone in the corridor.

**A little bit of romance (if you can call it that) there. Again, reviews are appreciated, especially cause it's my birthday! Hope you liked it!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	10. Chapter 10

***Cough cough cough cough sniffle sniffle sniffle cough sniffle cough blows nose cough cough cough sniffle sniffle blows nose* Translation: Being sick sucks. Hope you all like this chapter, it's a bit of a break through for Rose and Scorpius :)**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 10: Quidditch Scare

The next two days passed in a haze for both Rose and Scorpius. They were so swamped with homework that they were often seen in the library well past midnight and both tended to be extremely tired and at their wit's end. It wasn't easy, being members of the Quidditch team and still having so much homework to complete. So, all in all, both were pretty glad to reach the weekend.

"Thank Merlin it's Saturday," Rose sighed happily, leaning back against her bed, watching Molly do her hair.

"Aren't you worried for the match?" Molly asked incredulously. Rose shrugged.

"Sort of. I mean, we played really, really well yesterday. I'm perfectly confident that we can beat Ravenclaw," she answered easily. Molly just shook her head.

"Oh, Rose. You are something," she muttered to herself.

"Good luck today, Rose," Samantha MacMillian called from the door of the dormitory. "Hopefully we can get back some of our points if we win today."

"That would be appreciated," Rose agreed, rolling her eyes. Even though the Gryffindors were proud of Rose for not backing down against Scorpius, they were still angry that she'd lost a hundred and fifty points for them. The only ones who didn't mind were the Weasley-Potters.

"Honestly, Rose, don't even listen to them. Dad and your mum did the same thing when they were first years, and people still like them," James had reassured her. And Rose didn't really mind. She needed to focus on her studies, in any case.

"We got lucky this weekend, Mol," she commented, flopping back on her bed. "Only have to work on that essay for Binns that's due next week."

"Oh, I heard we get the Harry Potter History lesson this year," Molly answered excitedly. "It'll be so cool hearing boring old Binns talk about our parents! I bet he'll still make them sound boring, though," she added as an afterthought, and Rose laughed.

"Probably. But you know we get the lesson, Mol! The fifth years always stare at us more than usual around Christmas! Scared Albus and me to death my first year, James told me it was because they were planning to murder me. I remember when Aunt Ginny found out...oh, that was the highlight of my winter break," Rose reminisced, her eyes glinting.

"Good point. I suppose it'll be different, though, actually hearing it ourselves," Molly mused. Rose stretched.

"Probably. Oh, Merlin! Molly, we've got to get down to the Great Hall! I've got to eat something!" Rose gasped. And the two girls bounded down the stairs and out the portrait hole to the Great Hall without another word.

When they entered the Hall, most people cheered, although the Slytherins and Ravenclaws both booed her. Rose, too used to hearing them react whenever James or Fred would come in before a Quidditch match, simply waved and continued chatting to Molly. As the two of them passed the Ravenclaw table, Rose glanced up and met a pair of worried gray eyes. Scorpius attempted a smirk, but Rose could tell he was nervous. She gave him a saucy smile in return before taking her seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey, hey, hey, Rosie!" Fred greeted her cheerfully. "How's our little flower this morning?"

"Merlin's beard, Fred, you sound completely stupid when you say that," Rose responded, rolling her eyes at him. "And I'm _starving_."

"Well, I'm nervous," Jessica Finnigan, the Keeper, stated anxiously. "I mean, I'm really not that good, and-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jess," Fred replied soothingly. "You're going to do just fine. Eat your sausage, now," he added. Rose, Molly, James, Lily, and Albus all turned away to hide their laughter.

"Oh, he's got it bad," Lily muttered.

"I know. That's why it's so funny," James replied, watching Fred continuing to talk to Jessica.

"I reckon they'll get together after the match," came a new voice from behind them. They all whirled to see Dominique standing behind them, watching Fred and Jessica.

"No way," Albus argued.

"Have you seen them flirting at Quidditch practice? I'm with Dominique," Rose answered.

"Wanna bet?" James challenged.

"Sure," Rose replied. "Three Galleons?"

"You're on," James grinned. "There's no way." Dominique shook her head.

"Alright, I'm off. I just came over to wish you all luck. Oh, and Greg and Emily asked me to let you know they've already left for the field."

"Thanks, Dom," James said, and Dominique smiled and left.

"Let me tell you, I think we have a real advantage with Oliver Wood's kids on our team," Roxanne mused. "Dad says he was a 'spanking good keeper' in his time."

"Yeah, our dad says the same," Albus spoke up. "Also used to tell us how insane he was about practicing." He, Lily, and Rose all glared at James, who ignored them.

"Well, it paid off. He's playing for the Kenmare Kestrels now, and making a mighty fine salary off it, too," Hugo added, and everyone jumped.

"When did you get here?" Rose asked her little brother.

"About the time Dominique left," he answered, piling sausages on his plate. "I happen to agree you've got a major advantage with the Wood kids on your team. Why, Peakes and Goldstein won't stand a chance against them!"

The rest of the breakfast was spent debating Gryffindor's chances of winning, and the best possible outcome of the entire season. At some point, Molly, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk, picked up her book and began to read until it was time to go.

As the team left the Hall to whistles, cheers, and a few boos, Lily, Rose, and Jessica seemed to become quieter. James noticed and put an arm around his cousins.

"Don't worry, ladies. You played an excellent game yesterday, and we all know the Malfoy prat's got no chance against our Rosie," he grinned at his cousin, who rolled her eyes but looked pleased all the same.

"Suck up," Lily muttered before she slipped into a stall to change into her scarlet Quidditch robes. Just as Dominique had said, Greg and Emily Wood were in the room, already changed and looking rather nervous at the prospect of playing their first Quidditch game in a few minutes. Rose had to admit to herself that she was starting to feel some butterflies as well, now. The competitive side of her wanted to beat Ravenclaw and show up Scorpius, but the intuitive side of her was worried. She just had this feeling that something was going to go wrong. Try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling and as a result didn't hear a word of James's pep talk.

"Alright, then. Let's go!" James yelled, and Rose leaped to her feet with the rest and walked out onto the field to loud cheers. Rose knew that Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, Hugo, Albus, and even Dominique and Louis would be cheering for her. It had always been hard for Bill Weasleys' kids to choose sides in a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game. Though all three of them had been Ravenclaws, none of them played on the team, and as the majority of their cousins were Gryffindor players...as you can imagine, it was a little hard to pick sides.

"And here they come!" Lee Jordan II announced from up in the stands. "Potter, Weasley, Potter, Wood, Wood, Weasley, and Finnigan. The new team for this year, put together of Gryffindor's finest!" This received loud cheers as the Ravenclaws made their appearance as well.

"And here's the Ravenclaws! Corner, Davies, Chang, Goldstein, Peaks, Malfoy, and Brown. Should be a decent face-off today!"

Rose watched nervously as James moved forward and shook hands with Flori Chang, the Ravenclaw captain.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch called, and Rose clambered onto hers, palms sweating slightly. Then the whistle sounded, and the teams took flight at last. Rose took off into the cool autumn air, feeling the breeze whistle through her red locks. In an instant, all her butterflies were gone and she was confident. She could do this. She'd show Scorpius.

"AND THEY'RE OFF! It's Lily Potter with the Quaffle, Lily Potter, new Gryffindor Chaser, sister of fellow Chaser James Potter, Lily Potter with the Quaffle-she's really flying and-OUCH! Hit with a bludger by Goldstein, Gregory Goldstein of Ravenclaw is-er, hit with a Bludger, too, from Emily Wood, but it's Chang with the Quaffle, moving right along down the field, nearing the Keeper's-OH! James Potter grabs the Quaffle and it's back up the field for the Gryffindors as he passes to Li-no, to Fred! Fred Weasley II speeding down the field, no one ahead, and he shoots-GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

The cheers of the Gryffindors filled the air, and Rose punched the air triumphantly before returning to her vigilant watch for the Snitch. It was nowhere to be seen, and as Scorpius was currently skimming over the game just as she was, she gathered it was hiding somewhere.

Ravenclaw scored, but then Gryffindor scored twice more. Rose was ecstatic, they were up by twenty points. However, at this point, the game started to get dirty. When she caught sight of a flash of gold, she dove for it, only to be nearly knocked out of the air by Tom Peakes as he threw his Beater's bat at her. In response, James flew over and punched him in the nose. Madam Hooch awarded both teams a penalty, and Lily scored. Jessica Finnigan pulled off an excellent save, and the game continued.

But the Ravenclaws seemed to have gained new strength, and soon they scored thrice more. The game was tied at forty, and the crowds in stands went wild every time anyone from either team seized the Quaffle. Both teams were desperate for another score.

But just as Michael Davies headed up the field, Rose saw it. The Snitch was fluttering in the dead center of the field. Unfortunately, Scorpius saw it, too, and they dove at the same time, both hurtling toward the ground at a dangerous speed. Rose could hear Lily, Jessica, and Emily screaming, and James yelling, as well as several of Scorpius's teammates, but she was only focused on one thing: The Snitch.

Just before they reached it, the tiny golden ball darted off toward the Gryffindor end. Rose pulled her broom sharply around and shot off toward the posts, neck and neck with Scorpius. She could hear the crowd screaming and she felt a sudden adrenaline rush. _She could do this. _

The next few seconds happened so fast it was a blur. One thing permeated her soundless mind: Lily's scream to "WATCH OUT, ROSE!" The next second, a huge black ball had come swinging into her peripheral vision, but not as a danger to her. At the exact same moment the Bludger struck the side of Scorpius Malfoy's head, Rose Weasley's fingers closed tightly around the tiny golden Snitch.

The crowd went wild as Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Six scarlet blurs were zooming toward Rose, but she was already on the ground.

"SCORPIUS!" she screamed, half-blinded by tears as she ran to his limp body. "Oh, Merlin, don't die, please don't die!" she exclaimed, falling to her knees beside him. Her hands fluttered over him, too afraid to touch him. "Please, Scorpius, don't die, don't die, don't be dead, please-"

"Move over. Now!" Madam Hooch barked, and Rose scrambled out of the way. The referee bent over Scorpius as the rest of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams landed around them. The Ravenclaw Keeper, Jenny Brown, let out a gasp, and Jessica Finnigan held tight to Fred II.

"Is he alive?" Rose asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes," Madam Hooch replied. "But he's got some severe head injuries. He'll need to be taken to the hospital wing right away." And with these words, she conjured a stretcher underneath Scorpius, then levitated it into the air and set off toward the castle. The teams stood, silent, surrounded by the supporters who had made their way onto the field.

"Do you think he'll be OK?" Elizabeth Thomas asked nervously, and her whisper carried across the entire field.

"He has to be," Rose replied instantly. "He-he just has to be." And with that, she took off running for the castle. She didn't look back once.

**Hmm. I guess maybe Rose cares a bit too, huh? ;)**

**More reviews=sooner updates!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everybody! And may I just say Merry Christmas to you all! I know that some of you may not celebrate Christmas, which is perfectly understandable, but as I write this, it is 9:56 on Christmas Day, so for those of you who do celebrate, Merry Christmas! To everyone else, Happy Holidays! This chapter shows a lot of development between Rose and Scorpius. It's really not my favorite, but I hope some of you like it. Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed! You are all so kind with your comments and I love hearing from you :)**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine, At All**

Chapter 11: Maybe Not

A pounding, terrible pain in his head. That was the first thing Scorpius Malfoy registered as he slowly began to regain consciousness. For a moment, the pain was so bad, he couldn't think, and he groaned.

"Madam Pomfrey, I think he's waking up," called a girl's voice, very close to him. It was extremely familiar, but the pain in Scorpius's head was so bad, he couldn't figure out who it was. He groaned again.

"S'cuse me, ma'am, but he sounds in an awful lot of pain," said another male voice, this one also very familiar. Who was he? And who was the girl? And more importantly, where was Scorpius?

He slowly opened his eyes. At first, all he saw was bright white light, and then everything came slowly into focus as he stared at the stones above his head. Before he even had time to register where he was, a kind-faced woman in a starched white apron was standing over him.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy. Nice to see you awake. Can you take this for me? It'll help the pain go right down." Scorpius opened his mouth, and she slid a sweet-tasting potion into it. He swallowed. "Good boy. That should take effect in about five minutes. You just relax for a bit, now." And she bustled off.

The pain was slowly fading fast from Scorpius's head, for which he was extremely grateful. He could tell now that he was in the hospital wing. He could also feel a warm, soft hand trembling in his. Slowly, he hoisted himself into a sitting position.

"Hey, Scorpius."

The entirety of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams was standing around his bed, all very pale and worried. Upon seeing his eyes open, many of them smiled.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked. "The last thing I remember is flying straight for the Snitch, and then blacking out."

"You and Rose were flying at the Snitch," Dan Thomas began, looking very white. Scorpius registered vaguely that this was the male voice he'd heard earlier. "And...I think it was one of our Beaters...but someone hit a Bludger at the two of you. It looked like it was heading for Rose, but it swept around and hit you on the side of the head instead."

"It was terrifying," whispered a soft voice, and Scorpius looked around to see Rose Weasley sitting next to his bed, her eyes red and puffy, face pale. He realized that hers was the female voice he'd heard earlier. "You were just flying, and we were almost there...I saw it hit you. I thought...I thought you'd died," she admitted, her eyes welling up again. "It scared me to death."

Scorpius was stunned. He'd never thought that Rose Weasley, of all people, would be one to worry if he died. In earlier years, he certainly wouldn't have minded if _she _had died. But, he reflected, despite thinking that at the end of his first year, he'd jumped into the Black Lake to save her not a week ago. Times changed. He glanced down, a little uncomfortable, and noticed that it was Rose's hand that was clasping his own. He felt his face burn.

"Sorry," Rose said, quickly withdrawing her hand. "But...I was just so worried...I think we all thought, for a moment, that you'd..." She didn't finish, nor did he want her to.

"I'm sorry I worried you," he answered softly. "Did you at least catch the Snitch?"

Looking slightly guilty, she nodded. "I'm sorry, Scorpius. I tried to call a rematch, but everyone on the Ravenclaw team agreed-Gryffindor won." She looked straight at him, blue eyes begging him to understand.

"It's fine," he sighed. "You were just doing your job. Besides, I would've done the same if-if-if it had been you." A sudden image of Rose Weasley in his position flashed into his mind, and he shuddered. For a moment, silence fell among the teens.

"Did they notify my parents?" Scorpius asked suddenly. Next to him, Dan shook his head.

"Nah. Madam Pomfrey said it wasn't that serious. That Bludger cracked your skull-" Rose winced horribly, "-but of course she mended that in about a second. She wants to keep you all of Sunday, but we'll bring you your homework and you can get back to class on Monday."

"That's not too bad. It'll be nice to have a change of scenery other than the library and Ravenclaw Tower. Wait, what if I need a certain book?" Scorpius inquired.

"She'll have a house elf get you one," Michael Davies replied.

"Right," Scorpius replied, leaning back on his pillows, suddenly feeling tired. "That's that, then. I think I'll take a nap..."

"Scorpius, don't!" Rose shrieked, and he jerked back awake. "You need to check with Madam Pomfrey and see if it's safe."

Everyone stared at her.

"What? In the Muggle world, it's not good for your body to rest after you've had a concussion or head injury. I know this is the Wizarding World, but Muggles and magic folk have the same anatomy," she replied defensively. "Scorpius, don't!"

"Calm down, Rose," he sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wait until she comes back."

"That would be much better," she answered, breathing a sigh of relief. Scorpius smiled gently at her. James Potter cleared his throat, elbowing his sister Lily as he did so.

"Right, well, if he's fine, then we'll just be, er, leaving. Lots to do...seventh year's not all easy," he remarked, grinning crookedly. The rest of the two teams agreed with him, and everyone left except for Rose. Now it was just her and Scorpius, alone in the Hospital Wing. He was looking everywhere but at her, feeling slightly awkward. What did you say to your archenemy who actually cared about your life?

"Scorpius...please don't be angry with me," Rose burst out all of a sudden. Scorpius jumped slightly and returned his gaze to her.

"Why would I be angry with you? Because you won? Rose, you caught the Snitch. Even if you tried, I don't think you could have stopped in time. We were both going too fast to try to stop. It just happens."

She was shaking her head as he finished.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, please don't be angry with me because I got us landed in detention. I hate that I was so stupid as to prank you, and then I almost lost us our prefect badges...I'm so sorry. It was stupid, and not a smart idea, and I shouldn't have listened to Louis, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry I got us into detention."

"Really, Rose?" he asked, slightly amused. "I think we were both active participants in the pranking war. It's not entirely your fault, and not entirely mine. We were both to blame."

"Can't argue with that," she sighed. "I just feel really bad...I mean, we were furious with each other and the next thing I know, you're nearly dead on the Quidditch field!" She shook her head as if to clear it. "I just wouldn't have wanted my last words to you to have been, 'I hate you' or something like that."

"So...truce, then?" Scorpius asked cautiously. Rose hesitated for a moment, then smiled.

"Truce."

Just then, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over to check on Scorpius, sending Rose off, as Scorpius "needed rest", according to her. Rose left the Hospital Wing, a small smile on her face. Maybe, just maybe, Scorpius Malfoy wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

For the rest of the weekend, Scorpius stayed in the Hospital Wing. His teammates all came to visit him again, as did the majority of Ravenclaw House. Even Rose came to visit him, leading to another awkward conversation. He could sort of sense that something had changed between them. Somehow, Rose Weasley didn't hate him as much any more. And that was something. He spent the rest of the weekend in the Hospital Wing, and was released Monday morning, cleared to return to his classes and play Quidditch. Almost nothing happened that week, as Filch was sick and the Weasley-Potter group was pardoned from their detentions. And so it was Tuesday morning of the following week that found Scorpius outside Professor Switch's classroom, discreetly watching Rose out of the corner of his eye.

He couldn't deny it any more - Rose was pretty. No, that wasn't it - she was beautiful. Maybe it was just the fact that they weren't fighting anymore and he no longer glared at her hatefully, but his mates were right about her beauty.

"Scorpius!" Dan Thomas cried, exasperated, waving his hand in front of Scorpius's face.

"Wha - sorry!" he exclaimed, jerking his head around. "What did you say?"

"I was asking you if you thought you'd be able to pass the test on Friday," Dan said impatiently.

"Oh - yeah, probably," Scorpius replied, shrugging. "Switch's tests are never hard."

"For you," Dan muttered.

"Oi, Scorp, who were you staring at?" Gregory Goldstein asked, sniggering. "There's a group of girls over there..." he trailed off as he spotted a certain red head in that group. "No way," he whispered. "No way. You _were not_ staring at Rose -"

The door opened and Professor Switch came out.

"In, quickly," he said. "We've lots to do today."

Scorpius, thankful for the distraction, was one of the first into the classroom. He sat himself next to a fourth year Ravenclaw girl he didn't know and ignored his best friends as they waved to him. He needed to pay attention to the lesson today, as he hadn't entirely understood the homework last night.

And as Professor Switch began to lecture, he found he _still _didn't understand. The more Switch talked, the more confused Scorpius became, until at last he found himself staring blankly at the board, for the first time in his life.

"And now," Switch said, turning to stare at the students, "you will partner the person in the same seat as you on the opposite side of the classroom and see how well you can manage to understand the theory of Vanishing."

Scorpius sighed, then looked across the room to where his seat was, and found a pair of wary blue eyes staring back at him. Rose. For once in his life, Scorpius was grateful to be paired with Rose. She was sure to have understood what Switch said, and he could probably learn just by watching her.

"Hey," he said awkwardly as he sat down next to her.

"Hi," she said, all business. "So I think the theory behind Vanishing is-"

And she was off, using all sorts of complex methods and evidence that made nearly no sense to Scorpius. He tried to understand, but the more he tried, the more confused he became.

"Stop!" he finally cried. "Stop, Rose!"

She did so, startled. "What's wrong?"

"I-I," he stammered, not sure if he could tell her. They may not have argued in the past week (a record for them), but Scorpius wasn't sure if he could trust her.

"Scorpius," Rose said, and he looked at her. "What's up?"

"I don't understand," he muttered, staring at the table. She didn't say anything for a long time, and just when Scorpius was thinking he should say it was all a big joke, she spoke.

"Which parts don't you understand?"

"Any of it!" he cried, throwing his hands in the air. "It just doesn't make any sense to me!"

She stared at him for a long moment, unsure of whether or not he was joking. What she saw in his grey eyes obviously convinced her that he was telling the truth, for she pulled out her notes and began to explain it slowly, in a much easier way than the textbook had. By the end of Double Transfiguration, Scorpius understood the theory and was even able to hold a bit of a conversation about it with Rose.

"Thanks, Rose," he sighed, leaning back in his chair as they finished up. "I actually understand it now."

"You're welcome," she replied, an odd tone in her voice. Scorpius looked at her to find her face carefully smooth and devoid of emotion.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you not understand something?"

"N-no," she replied, packing her books in her bag. "I'm fine."

The bell rang just then, and Rose was out of her seat and almost at the classroom door before Scorpius could question her further. He stared after her in confusion for so long, he was the only one left in the classroom.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Switch asked gently, placing a hand on Scorpius's shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

"Wh-, oh, yes, Professor," he replied, flustered. "I was, er, deep in thought, that's all."

"Are you sure you're alright, dear boy?" he asked, peering at Scorpius with knowing brown eyes.

"Yes, Professor," Scorpius replied finally. "I'm fine. Sorry to bother you."

And with that, he was gone. It wasn't until later that evening, as he was going to bed, that Scorpius realized something: That was the first time he and Rose had worked together in class without arguing once.

* * *

The following afternoon, as Scorpius fought his way through the teeming corridors to reaching the library (he had given up his lunch period in favor of getting a head start on his homework), he was still pondering this strange new development. Thanks to Rose's explanation, he had understood his homework perfectly last night, and was very confident in the fact that he'd gotten all of his answers right.

As Scorpius made his way down the last corridor before the library, he heard soft, furious voices. Peeking around the corner, he saw Rose Weasley glaring angrily up at her ex-boyfriend, Darren Thomas, who was smirking at her.

"You don't know anything about me, Thomas," she hissed. "You never bothered to learn. You just wanted in with the Potter-Weasley clan."

"Too true," he smirked. "And I wanted to see if the rumors about you were true."

"What rumors?" Rose asked, her blue eyes dangerous slits. If she'd been looking at Scorpius like that, he'd have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Darren Thomas, however, didn't even flinch.

"That you're a stuck up prude who doesn't know how to have fun."

Rose's mouth dropped open. "You-you-"

"And guess what?" Darren continued. "They're true."

Tears sprang to Rose's eyes as Scorpius, trembling with rage, burst from behind the corner.

"You take that back!" he yelled, his wand out and pointing toward Darren. Both he and Rose jumped.

"Why?" Thomas asked. "They are true."

Scorpius didn't even hesitate. Within a second, he'd Stunned Darren Thomas and sent him flying backward into the opposite wall, where he slumped down, unconscious. For a second, both Rose and Scorpius stared at him.

"Why did you do it?" Rose suddenly demanded, turning back to him.

"Wh-what?" Scorpius stuttered. Rose rolled her bright blue eyes.

"Why did you stand up for me?" she asked.

"Well, I just-he was being mean to you!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"I noticed," Rose replied sarcastically. "But why? You hate me."

"Why did you help me in Transfiguration, then?" Scorpius challenged, feeling hot around the ears. "You hate me, too."

"I-well, you needed help!" Rose said, clearly flustered. "It'd be horrid of me to sit there and let you struggle!"

"And it would have been horrid for me to stand there and listen to him say those things about you," Scorpius retorted. "So...we're even, now."

"I-I guess we are," Rose replied, stunned. Scorpius turned and began to walk away, but she called him back.

"What?" he demanded.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Rose said very quietly, looking at the ground. Then she turned and left. It was Scorpius's turn to be too shocked to do anything but let her walk away from him.

**:) Hope you all liked it. Hey, did anyone go see the Hobbit? IT WAS SO AMAZING! I was really impressed. Can't wait for part 2!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Thanks so so so so so much for all your reviews on the last chapter, it meant a lot to me! I've got the next chapter here for you, I hope you like it! I do, I think it's cute, but I'll let you decide. Anyways, Happy 2013 to everybody! Personally, I've got a great year ahead, especially a great summer. Hope everything's going well for all of you, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, it's not mine. Neither is the song that's the title of this chapter.**

Chapter 12: Start of Something New

"Come on, Rose! Filch'll have our hide if we're late!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Molly, I'm coming!"

Rose Weasley sighed, tossed her book aside reluctantly, and tromped down the girl's staircase.

"Finally," Albus sighed dramatically. "We were wondering if you were ever coming down. Reading, again?"

"Yes," Rose replied shortly. "Where's James?"

"Taking his own sweet time," Lily said grumpily. "Nose game."

Every member of the Weasley-Potter family slapped their hands on their nose, then looked around at the rest of them.

"Rose," Fred decided.

"Whatever."

Rose stomped up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and pounded on the seventh-year dorm.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT HERE!" she yelled.

"I'm COMING!" he yelled back, and the door swung open. Rose's jaw dropped.

"James, you - you - you look...nice!" she gasped. And it was true. James' normally unruly hair had been carefully gelled down, his Gryffindor tie was straight, and for once, his trousers were at the proper level instead of hanging down. The smirk on his face, however, was the same as it had always been.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "Why did you dress up for detention, of all things?"

"No reason," he replied, flushing. Rose smirked back.

"Dom'll figure it out. You know she will."

"Whatever," James muttered, pushing past her and going down the stairs. When Rose and James had joined the Weasley-Potter group in the common room, they all headed out of the portrait hole and to the Great Hall, where Dominique and Louis, Filch, Scorpius, and all his friends were waiting for them. Surprisingly, Alice Longbottom was there, too. James turned bright red when he saw her, and all of a sudden, the reason for his dressing up became apparent to Rose.

"Partner up," Filch said nastily once they'd all arrived. Everyone moved to stand with their partners: Dominique with James, Louis with Lucy, Molly with Fred, Roxanne with Albus, Hugo with Lily, Dan Thomas with his sister Elizabeth, Roger Corner with Michael Davis, Gregory Goldstein with Samantha MacMillian, and Rose with Scorpius.

"Alright. Here are your assignments." Filch proceeded to read out a long list of tortures, and each pair of partners rolled their eyes as he handed down their sentence for that evening.

"And you two," he finally growled, turning to Rose and Scorpius, "will be making a potion that Professor Slughorn needs brewed. Off you go, now."

Everyone left for their designated locations. Rose and Scorpius headed to the dungeons.

"Wonder why he wants a potion brewed?" Scorpius wondered.

"He was out sick today," Rose answered. "Didn't you notice?"

"No, I only have potions on Thursday," he replied.

"Oh."

That was it for conversation as they entered the dungeon passages. When they entered the classroom they knew so well, there was only a book, laying open to page 394, and a cauldron.

"I guess this is the one we need to brew," Scorpius said uncertainly, peering at the page. It was very complex and would likely take them several hours. He winced as he noticed that there was a period where they would be forced to wait two hours for the potion to be ready.

He turned around and found Rose already at the cupboard, pulling out ingredients they'd need.

"It's the one we did in class today," she explained. "It's actually not that hard, but the timing has to be impeccable."

"Alright," Scorpius replied, and they set to work. For a long time, silence filled the room, with the occasional "pass me the armadillo bile" or "where are the beetle eyes?". Finally, they reached the two hour waiting period.

"And now we wait," Rose sighed, slumping onto a stool next to the cauldron.

"Guess so," Scorpius replied. Rose pretended not to hear him, and he didn't speak again, leaving her to ponder in silence.

What was going on with her and Scorpius right now? They were barely speaking, and yet they hadn't had an argument in almost a week. Ever since she'd seen him get hit on the Quidditch field, there had been a new feeling awakened in Rose - she almost felt like she _cared _about him. But that couldn't be right. He was her enemy, and they had been that way for four years prior to this one. Things couldn't change that fast...could they?

The silence stretched on, and the minute hand on the clock refused to move any faster. It had been almost a half hour before Rose decided that she couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"Scorpius, say something," she begged, startling him out of his thoughts. For a moment he stared at her, then he spoke.

"It really sucks to be doing detention on my birthday," he said.

"It's your birthday?" Rose asked, surprised. Scorpius nodded. "Well, happy birthday, then."

"Thanks."

More silence.

"Please, Scorpius," Rose sighed. "Keep talking. I can't stand just...just sitting here!"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rose replied. "How about...anything. Your life story, your favorite color, I don't care what you tell me, so long as it's something!"

"My life story, huh?" he asked, giving her his trademark smirk.

"Sure," she replied, turning to face him.

"Well, I was born September 20, 2005 to Draco and Astoria Malfoy-"

"So you're sixteen today?" Rose asked, surprised. Scorpius couldn't restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I am."

"I'll be sixteen in a month," she admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Please continue," Rose requested.

"I went to a private Muggle school for years until I started at Hogwarts." He shuddered. "I hated it there. I never had any friends, because I was 'different' even then. I was the bookish kid. This school was for snotty kids of really rich people. I wasn't stuck up and I didn't enjoy teasing others, so I was an outcast. When I started to get my magic, it was even worse."

Rose's blue eyes were huge. She had no idea that Scorpius's childhood had been so horrible.

"The only good part of my life was my baby brother," he said, his voice becoming ragged. "Charlie. He...he looked just like my mum, he had her blue eyes and everything. But...he got cancer, when he was about three. He fought it for nearly a year, but..." Scorpius broke off and turned away.

"Oh, Scorpius," Rose gasped, tears on her cheeks. "I - I can't imagine-"

"No one can," he replied, his voice rough. She saw him swiping at his cheeks and knew that he, too, had succumbed to tears. She wiped her eyes, too, as he turned back to her.

"Scorp-"

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"How could I not cry?" she asked in a whisper, her tears spilling over again. "That's such a sad story. If I imagine losing Hugo-" it was her turn to break off and look away. When she had regained her composure, she turned back to him and he continued.

"Well, Dad never was the same after that. Charlie was the light in all of our eyes. So there was a rough patch for a few years. Finally, Mum got so sick of everyone sniping at each other and then crying ourselves to sleep each night that she hauled us all off to visit her cousin, who was a therapist. It's really thanks to her that we're still a family. They won't admit it, but I know they were close to a divorce. Anyways, that was the year before I started at Hogwarts. We're much better now, really. More of a family."

"Why did you tell me this?" Rose asked in a whisper, tears still glistening on her cheeks.

Scorpius looked her straight in the eye. "I don't know."

Silence fell again. Rose, wiping her eyes again, reflected that she'd never heard silence quite this loud.

"So what about you?" Scorpius asked. "Had a fairy tale life, have you?"

"No," Rose replied sharply, "but it's not as bad as yours."

"Well, tell me."

"Fine. I was born October 22nd, 2005, to Ron and Hermione Weasley. I was the fifth Weasley-Potter born. Victoire, Dominique, Louis, and James came before me. I had ready-made playmates from the time I could walk," she reflected, laughing. "Yes, I was fairly happy most of the time, and since I was the firstborn, I got a lot of attention in my house. I loved the Weasley get-togethers - actually, I still do. They're loads of fun, so warm, colorful, and bright," she sighed, her eyes a million miles away in a memory.

"And?" Scorpius asked, to bring her back down.

"Well, obviously not everything is perfect," Rose sighed. "My life changed a lot when Hugo was born. All of a sudden, _he _was the center of attention. And he had some medical problems when he was younger, too, so he got loads more attention than I did. One night, I heard Mum and Dad getting ready to take him to St. Mungo's. I got up to say goodbye and I watched them Floo away. There was a babysitter in the house - I don't remember who it was - but I watched how they Flooed, and I copied them. I went to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's. Scared them half to death, too. They called the babysitter to tell them I was safe, and then they kept me overnight. The next morning, Mum came for me in tears. She spent a long time talking to me and telling me she loved me, and that she was so sorry she hadn't had time for me. Turns out, Hugo was fine, he just had a tricky form of colic. I guess that was probably the worst," Rose conceded. "Well, there was the time my cat died, but that wasn't as bad."

"That was your biggest tragedy?" Scorpius asked, disbelieving. "Your _cat died?_"

In an instant, Rose was on her feet, eyes flashing.

"Don't you talk that way," she growled. "It was very traumatic for me. I was three, for Merlin's sake, all I knew was that I could never hug him again when I was feeling sad, I'd never see him again...and for all that, my last memory was of him laying limp on the floor, his eyes dim. He'd lost the will to live."

"Right," Scorpius snapped back, "because losing a cat is totally worse than losing a brother."

"I never said that nor will I ever say it," Rose retorted. "I feel terrible for you and your family. But you can't just downplay my sufferings because yours are so much greater."

"He was a cat, Rose," Scorpius sighed.

"I happen to love animals, Malfoy!" Rose yelled, tears falling freely. "It was horrible for me, because I used to seek comfort in him while I was feeling so unloved after Hugo's birth!"

Scorpius glared at her, a retort on the tip of his tongue. However, at that moment, Rose reached up and swiped at her eyes again. Something stirred in Scorpius, and his retort died.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Rose stared at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

She was so flabbergasted she had to sit down. "You...you never apologize to me!"

"Well, I am now," he said wearily. "We shouldn't be fighting over death."

"You're right," she admitted. "I'm sorry, too."

It was his turn to be amazed. "Well...thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied.

For a long time, no one said anything. The silences between them really were getting old, Rose decided. So she took a piece of advice from her long-time idol and spoke up.

"What's your favorite color?"

Scorpius stared at her like she'd just grown another head. "Um, blue, I guess."

"Favorite animal?"

"Dog."

"Favorite place to be?"

"A forest."

"Favorite movie?"

"Wizard of Oz," he replied. Rose's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you know what a movie is?"

"My mother's a Muggle-born, too," he replied, smirking again. "We have Movie Night Fridays during the summer. The therapist suggested it."

"Oh." She considered this. "That's cool, I guess. I love the old ones...but I think my favorite is Pride and Prejudice."

"Have you read the book?" he asked.

She gave him a withering look. "What kind of question is that?"

"Apparently a stupid one."

"Of course I did. And Sense and Sensibility, and Emma, and Mansfield Park. I love Jane Austen, and so did my mum. As a matter of fact, my name was almost Jane, but Mum decided that was too plain. She wanted something more vibrant. When my dad came home that night, he'd brought her a bunch of roses. That's how they decided on my name."

Scorpius stared at her. "That's cool. I was just named after a constellation, like my dad. I guess it's a family thing or something."

"Right," Rose replied, staring hard at the floor. She didn't know what had caused her to open up to Scorpius like that, but she sensed that somehow, their walls were coming down.

"Alright, your turn," Scorpius decided after another tense five minutes of silence. "Favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Favorite animal?"

"Dolphin."

"Favorite place to be?"

"The Burrow," Rose replied wistfully. "At Christmas. It's just wonderful."

"Favorite flower?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Roses," she sighed, blushing. "I've always had a preference for them. Dad brought them home to Mum all the time, as a reminder of how they got my name."

"My parents like to stargaze," Scorpius said. "It's very soothing to them, apparently."

"That's sweet," Rose replied dreamily. "I like stargazing, too."

"What's your favorite constellation?" Scorpius asked.

"Andromeda. I love the story behind it, too," Rose replied. "I suppose yours is Scorpius?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "Though I like Draco, too. So strong and powerful, and big. Not just 'cause it's my dad's name."

Rose just smiled at him, but somehow, he knew she understood.

They talked for a little longer until the timer on the cauldron went off. Then it was back to work, not speaking much, as normal, but somehow, the silence was more comfortable this time. When they finally finished the potion, Rose sat back in her chair, a smile on her face.

"That was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be," she admitted. "Thank heavens!"

"Yeah, Slughorn'll be happy," Scorpius replied, a small smile on his face. No need to mention how happy the evening had made him, as well. "Hey, Weasley, want to hear a vegetable joke?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Sure?"

"It's really corny," he replied, grinning at her. For a second, she just stared at him, not getting it. And then, once it clicked, she burst out laughing.

"Scorpion," she choked as she got up to leave, "that is the single most pathetic joke I have ever heard!"

"Glad you liked it," he replied.

"Hey," she said softly, and he looked up at her. "Good luck tomorrow. Try not to get, I don't know, killed or anything, OK?"

Scorpius just nodded. Rose smiled and left. Scorpius sat there in the dungeon for a little longer, thinking how nice it was that Rose Weasley cared.

**Heehee, fluff...gotta love it. And I hope you did! Please leave a review, you know I love hearing from you!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello to all my readers! I would firstly like to apologize for this horrendously long wait, but I've been having a lot of emotional issues all through January and February, plus my classes got harder and I had more homework and then I failed a test, got yelled at, and basically had a breakdown, but I'm back on my feet now and doing much better. I've had this finished for awhile, but I got major writer's block on chapter 15 and I didn't want to publish this until I found a way to continue the story. But anyways, here's chapter 13, and there's a BIG BIG BIG Scorose (is that the ship name?) event at the end, so I hope it marginally makes up for the long wait.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Also, I'd like to thank everybody who read that author's note, cause it was really long :)**

Chapter 13: Everything Has Changed

Nothing noteworthy happened the rest of the week, and so it was Saturday morning that found Scorpius laying in his bed, staring up at the canopy. It was around 5:00 am, and Scorpius was rather nervous about his second Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. Though the Ravenclaw team's practice last night had been seamless, Scorpius was still worried. He didn't fancy winding up in the hospital wing again with his skull cracked. Plus, he'd promised Rose he'd be careful...at their last detention...where everything had changed.

Groaning to himself, Scorpius got out of bed. He'd tried to keep his thoughts away from Rose and their latest detention, because those thoughts tended to distract him. It had been the first time they'd ever been civil to each other...and Scorpius had found that she actually was the engaging, funny, delightful person all his friends found her to be. And it didn't help that she was drop-dead gorgeous, either.

But he'd spend four years arguing with her. Four years. Surely that had to count for something, right? But what was it Mum always said? Something about getting to know the real person? Oh, yes, that was it: "It's what's inside that counts." Which was true. But which was the real Rose? The funny, smart, beautiful girl who'd been in detention with him? Or the one who'd cussed him out in front of the entire school not even a month ago? And that sent his thoughts right back in circles again.

Scorpius got out of bed and peeked out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, and it looked to be perfect Quidditch conditions: Not a cloud in the sky. He dressed quickly and went down to the Common Room. Despite the earliness of the hour, there were at least twelve Ravenclaws down there, working feverishly on projects, reading, or writing, their quills scratching all over the parchment. Scorpius approached one of the many bookshelves on the walls, and looked through them. It was the Muggle Classics section, and Scorpius found himself looking at an array of Jane Austen's works.

"_...but I think my favorite is 'Pride and Prejudice'...of course I [read the book]! And 'Sense and Sensibility, and 'Emma', and 'Mansfield Park'. I love Jane Austen..."_

Rose's words from last night came back to him as he stared at the gold-embossed titles on the shelves. On a whim, he pulled down 'Emma' from the shelf and stared at it. Should he...? No, he was being stupid. This was a girl's book. Why was he even thinking of reading it? Simply because Rose had?

That was the last straw. Scorpius slammed the book back on the shelf and stomped back upstairs to the dormitories. He really was going insane. How was it that his arch enemy for the past four years suddenly had him considering reading Jane Austen? No girl had ever had that effect on him before. So why did Rose?

* * *

"Ready to go, Rose?" Molly Weasley II asked.

"Yeah," Rose replied, knotting her Gryffindor scarf tightly around her neck. "Let's go."

It was almost time for the Quidditch game between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and Rose was ridiculously nervous, considering she wasn't even playing. Scorpius was having that effect on her. She didn't want him to get hurt again, but she wasn't so sure she wanted Ravenclaw to win...that would not benefit the Gryffindor team at all.

"Do you want Ravenclaw to win?" Molly asked as the two girls made their way down the stairs. Rose sighed.

"I don't know. It would be better for Gryffindor if they lost, but that seems...mean, to want them to lose just so we can do well."

"Tell that to James," Molly snorted.

"Good point."

"HEY, cousins!" Fred exclaimed as he spotted Rose and Molly. "Want to take a bet? Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? Lily and Lucy are hoping for Ravenclaw to win, and James wants-"

"Ravenclaw to lose," Rose finished. "Of course. And no, Fred, I'm not betting."

"Aw, come on!" he complained. "Everyone else did!"

"Don't try that on her, Fred, you know it doesn't work," Molly replied. "I'll say...two Galleons on Ravenclaw. They're better at strategy."

"Cheers, Molly!" Fred said as he wrote her name down. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you two, we've got to get some breakfast before the match," she said, tugging each of them by their elbows. They agreed, and the three hurried to breakfast, where James was boring Lily and Roxanne out of their minds with talk of tactics. Albus and Hugo, however, were listening intently.

"It'd really be best for us if Ravenclaw loses, we won against them once, thanks to Rose's great Seeking, but I don't want to have to beat them again...they're really good this year. So hopefully one of their players, like, trips coming down the stairs or something and we won't have to worry, they can just forfeit. If something happens to Malfoy again, chances are he's out for the season-"

"JAMES!" Rose gasped, shocked. "How can you say that?"

"Say what?" he asked, looking perfectly innocent.

"Say that you want Malfoy to get hurt just so we can win the season!"

"Well, it would be best for the team-" James stopped abruptly at the look on Rose's face.

"You are _completely _despicable," Rose growled. James' mouth hung open, as did the rest of the tables.

"Since when have you stood up for him?" Hugo asked. He was perfectly used to his sister's death stares; he got them twice a week at home.

"I'm not standing up for him, I just think it's horrid to wish ill on another player," Rose replied, still glaring at James. Hugo smirked.

"I seem to recall you wishing plenty of ill to him at the beginning of the year," he informed her snarkily. Rose turned her full-blast death glare on him.

"Shut up, Hugo."

"That's enough," Molly interjected. "Rose, sit down and eat something, we don't have long before the match starts. Hugo, follow your sister's advice."

Rose did as she was told, though she flat-out refused to speak to anyone for the rest of breakfast, and (to Molly's relief), Hugo listened as well.

It was a rather subdued Weasley-Potter group that made their way to the Quidditch pitch after breakfast, but they didn't stay that way long. Rose's bad mood had passed, and the feeling in the air was contagious. Soon she was laughing and joking along with all her cousins, even James, their argument forgotten.

"You guys all supporting Ravenclaw?" Louis asked, appearing quite suddenly and scaring Lucy half to death.

"Of course," Rose, Roxanne, Lily, Albus, Hugo, Molly, Lucy, and Fred all answered at once. James just pursed his lips and looked away. Luckily, Louis didn't notice, for at that moment, the teams walked out into the field.

The crowd went wild. Completely wild. Rose didn't remember a match where the crowd _hadn't _gone wild, but everyone seemed especially loud today. Madam Hooch made the two captains shake hands, and then they were off!

"And it's Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, Ravenclaw Seeker Davies shooting down the field there, zooming towards the Hufflepuff goalposts-oh! He's stopped by a Bludger and the Hufflepuffs take the Quaffle, going back down the field..."

Lee Jordan II was again commentating, throwing in a snide remark here and there. Rose wasn't really listening, she was more focused on the game, screaming her head off with Louis, Dominique, and the rest of her cousins (save James) as Gregory Goldstein beat the Keeper and scored the first goal for Ravenclaw.

The game continued, the Hufflepuffs holding the Ravenclaws off as best they could, but it still wasn't enough. Twice more they were scored on, until finally one of the Chasers (Rose couldn't tell who) grabbed the Quaffle and flew so quickly up the field that no one saw her until she scored. The Hufflepuffs in the stands went wild (and so did James). Dominique glared pointedly at him until he got the hint and shut up.

"Come on, mate!" Louis said. "Would it kill you to support us?"

"No, but it might kill the team!" James replied. Rose rolled her eyes and went back to watching the game.

It had been almost a half an hour of solid screaming, and Rose's voice was getting hoarse. She stopped yelling as loud, dancing up and down on her seat instead. The game was tied, 70-70, and tension was high.

"I hope he catches the Snitch soon," Dominique said to Rose, squinting at Scorpius Malfoy, who was gliding high above the game. "I have homework to do."

"Snitch hasn't shown up all game," Rose replied. "Could be awhile."

Twenty more minutes passed until, suddenly-

"LOOK AT SCORPIUS!" Rose screamed. He had gone into a dive, a dive so steep it seemed as though he would smash into the ground. The Hufflepuff Seeker tore after him, but it was too late-Scorpius was already rising, his fist held high, gold glinting through his fingers.

The stadium exploded with so much noise that no one could hear Lee's commentary. The Ravenclaw supporters were pouring onto the field, and Rose found herself shunted along with them, down onto the field, towards the team, who were all punching the air in triumph. Somehow, Scorpius saw her. If possible, his smile grew wider, and he began to fight his way toward her through the crowd.

"WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" he yelled. Rose smiled hugely, and had just opened her mouth to congratulate him when he threw his arms around her.

She froze. What was he doing? She was suddenly aware of everything around her - Molly watching them, her eyes round as Galleons, the smell of sweaty bodies, how warm Scorpius was, the way his arms felt around her.

Scorpius obviously felt the tension in her body, for he let go rather quickly. She could see in his eyes that he was as shocked as she was - and a little hurt, too.

"R-Rose?" he asked weakly, but she turned and shoved her way through the crowd, wanting nothing more than to escape - escape the much-too-crowded field, escape the eyes she could feel on the back of her head, and to escape the thoughts that were running through her own head.

**Well, you know what they say...the road to romance is never easy. Especially with these two. As soon as I finish chapter 15, I'll upload the next one. Chiao for Niao!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, readers! I'm back, with a hopefully-better-working laptop. Stupid thing decided it didn't like our Internet system and I couldn't do anything on it for about a week. Luckily for you all, I got the next chapter finished, so I'm posting this! I hope you all like it. Thanks to the extremely kind words of everyone who reviewed last time, that was so nice to hear :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter/anything you recognize**

**Chapter 14: And Suddenly Things Got Complicated**

For the next two weeks, neither Scorpius nor Rose spoke to one another. They didn't argue, they didn't joke around, they didn't even make civilized conversation. There had been no cleaning to do for the detentions, so they were all set to writing lines in one big classroom, where it was easy for them to avoid each other.

Rose wasn't sure what to say, or, indeed, if she should say anything. She didn't know if she thought of Scorpius in that way...or if she was just tired of fighting him all these years. Sure, in the past few weeks, she'd grown to like him, and she couldn't deny that he was good-looking. But two people didn't go from pranking each other and screaming at each other daily to suddenly dating. It just didn't happen. So what was she to do, now that it was happening to her?

Scorpius was scared that he'd screwed things up for good. Finally, he'd gotten Rose Weasley to stop screaming at him and actually get to know him. And truth be told, he'd really enjoyed getting to know her as well. She was really a great person behind all the screaming. And yet...did he even want to go out with her? He could just see the two of them in Hogsmeade, talking at a table in the Three Broomsticks, when suddenly, they disagreed about something and started screaming at each other again. And then they'd be right back to square one, which was not where he wanted to be. Now that he knew the real Rose Weasley, he didn't ever want to see mad Rose Weasley again.

Which left them at an impasse. Rose wouldn't speak to Scorpius, and Scorpius was too scared to speak to Rose. To make matters worse, nearly everyone at Hogwarts knew or suspected something had happened between Rose and Scorpius. The betting pools of who would win the next argument changed to "do you think they're in love or not?" Rose became more short-tempered and increasingly stressed. Scorpius became more quiet and withdrawn, spending all his time reading Jane Austen novels. No one was quite sure why. And so the whole of Hogwarts was thrown into seeming unbalance, wondering, just wondering, what was going to happen between Rose and Scorpius...

* * *

"Rose, seriously, come on! I need the answer!"

It was Friday, October 12, and Rose was staring at her blank Potions essay that was due on Monday, unable to concentrate. Albus, however, really wanted to get started on the essay so they could have Sunday off.

"Rose, come on-" Albus began again, but this time, Molly interfered.

"Albus, just leave her alone. She's not into it tonight. The poor girl's had a hard enough time the past couple of weeks. If you really want the answer, go to the library and find out yourself."

Albus threw his hands in the air. "I'd go ask Scorpius, but he's no use either these days."

That finally got through to Rose, but not in the way Albus had wanted it to, for he was suddenly shivering under Rose Weasley's infamous death glare.

"Rose," Molly cautioned. "Don't say something you'll regret."

"I'm...going for a walk," Rose said, getting up and walking right out of the common room. For a moment, the cousins simply stared after her. Then Albus sighed.

"I'll go try to mooch some answers off Dominique."

"Oh, no you won't," Molly retorted. "It's time to learn how to use a book."

Albus just stared at her in horror.

* * *

Rose made it all the way out of the castle and through the oak front doors before she realized she probably should have brought a cloak. Shivering, she considered heading to the library before she noticed the stars.

They were shining so brightly tonight, and Rose couldn't help but look for the constellations her mother had taught her when she was young. Orion, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Leo, Hydrus, Lupus, Draco...and Scorpius. She glared at the constellation angrily, knowing at the same time she was being completely irrational. The grouping of stars had nothing to do with the blond haired boy who had suddenly made life so difficult for her. Shaking her head, she set off around the lake.

What was a girl to do? Rose had considered writing to her mother several times, just to ask her advice, but something held her back. She wasn't even sure she liked Scorpius in that way, and besides, what if her father saw the letter? Rose just knew he would blow a gasket. And send a Howler. And come marching up to Hogwarts just to tell Scorpius to "stay the hell away" from his daughter.

No, that wouldn't do. Obviously, she'd have to figure this out on her own.

"OOF!"

The next thing Rose knew, she was on the ground. Lost in thought, she had apparently walked into someone else, who was out for a walk in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry," the person said, and Rose froze, for she knew that voice. "Can I help you up?" And Scorpius Malfoy reached his hand down to help Rose to her feet. She didn't take it, though. Instead, she recovered her shock and scrambled to her feet, hoping he wouldn't notice her famous Weasley blush.

"I - I'm sorry," she stammered, cursing herself for sounding so stupid. She took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm sorry about that. Please excuse me." Her voice was so polite and calm, expressionless, so unlike her.

"Hey, Rose, wait," he called, and she stopped.

"Yes?"

"Don't be like that," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I just wanted to talk to you, but you've been avoiding me."

"Avoiding you?" Rose asked, her calm mask suddenly gone, all her uncertainty turned to anger. "I think the positions are reversed, Malfoy. It's you who's been avoiding me."

"Malfoy?" Scorpius asked, hurt and angry. "Is that all I am now? 'Malfoy'? What happened to 'Scorpius'?"

"I don't know, Malfoy, that's what I'm asking you!"

"I don't even know what you mean!" he cried, exasperated. "You haven't talked to me for two weeks!"

"You haven't made any attempt to talk to me, either," Rose retorted. All her confusion and anger had come bubbling to the surface all of a sudden, and she didn't know what to do.

Scorpius closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm talking to you now. Can we please just discuss what happened?"

"Why? I think we both know what happened. You overreacted," Rose said.

"I - I was excited," he admitted. "And I wanted to see you."

"Well, I didn't want to be hugged!" Rose replied. She wasn't even sure why she was mad at him. She just _was._

"I didn't mean to!" he protested. "I mean, maybe I did, but I didn't mean for you to take it this way! I thought we were going to not be enemies, and now we are and I don't want to be!"

"What do you mean?" she asked, thoroughly exasperated and bewildered. "You're so confusing! You fight with me for years and then all of a sudden you're nice to me and hug me? I'm so confused, Malfoy! So you know what? Just - just leave me alone, OK?"

"But -" Rose didn't give him a chance to argue. She turned on her heel and stormed off to the castle, just hoping that somehow, she could figure things out. She needed guidance, a hug, some chocolate - and there was only one person who could give her that. She was going to see Dominique.

* * *

"Dom!" she yelled, ten minutes later as she climbed the staircase to the seventh year Ravenclaw girls' dormitories. "Are you up there?"

"Yes," Dominique replied, shoving aside her Potions essay. "What's wrong, Rose?"

Rose sighed and dropped into a seat. "I think my famous Weasley temper got the best of me again," she admitted.

Dominique sighed. "What happened?"

And Rose explained her entire run-in with Scorpius down by the lake, including all of the confusion she'd been feeling since the match. When she finished, Dominique tossed her a bag of chocolates.

"Hmm. How very interesting," Dominique said. "You say you've been feeling confused and angry regarding the situation?" Rose nodded. "Anything else?"

"I...I don't think so," Rose replied. "I mean, honestly, Dom, I just don't know."

"Rose, be honest with me. How did you feel when he hugged you after the match?" Dom asked, fixing Rose with her piercing blue gaze. Rose fidgeted.

"Shocked, startled, confused," she confessed. "I didn't get why he'd be hugging me. I mean, someone doesn't just go from being your enemy to being your boyfriend over, what, two months? That just doesn't happen!" Rose exclaimed.

"Rose." Dominique laughed. "You like him."

"I do not!"

Dominique just looked at her. "Yes, you do. Don't you?"

Rose wouldn't answer. Finally, after a long silence, she spoke. "Do you think I should apologize to him?"

"Yes," Dominique replied. "From the way you put it, you were a little harsh with him. I think he deserves it. Just remember, Rose: Love comes out of the blue, when you least expect it. OK?"

Rose just nodded. "I'm not in love with him," she said firmly to Dominique as she left.

"Yet," Dominique muttered under her breath.

**Key word: yet. Anyways, please remember that the road to romance never is easy, especially with two people who've been arguing for years. There has to be some uncertanity or it's not realistic. And I prefer realistic over fairytale romances where everything goes right.**

**Anyways, I hope you liked it. Please review!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello, readers, followers, anyone who randomly clicked on this and kept reading! My sincerest apologies to you all for the long wait. School and life, what can I say? Well, and writer's block, which is just such a pain in the ass. However, I've written this chapter and another one for the story, and I mean to work on it all day, so hopefully I can update tomorrow or Tuesday. Scratch that, I WILL update Monday or Tuesday. But I'll stop blabbering now and get on with the story. Thanks to everyone for their wonderful reviews, I really appreciate the support!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, you would not be reading this right now.**

**Chapter 15: An Apology and A Deal**

Luckily for Rose, there was a Hogsmeade trip that very next day, and nearly everyone had signed up to go, Rose included. She and her cousins were planning to spend the day hanging out together. With school and detention so often butting in the way, they were really starting to miss just being with each other.

The morning of the trip dawned bright and cold, and breakfast that morning was an excited chatter that was enough to pull even Rose and Scorpius out of their normally dreary moods. Scorpius could be seen laughing and goofing off with his friends at the Ravenclaw table, and Rose was in an animated discussion with Albus and Lily.

"But honestly, Albus, how can you think that? Professor Slughorn told us the exact opposite in class! Weren't you paying attention?"

Albus snorted. "No. I was too busy concentrating on how James was going to ask out Alice that night."

"You really ought to have been paying more attention," Rose began, but Lily cut her off.

"James? Ask out _Alice Longbottom_? Oh, Merlin, no one saw that one coming. Did he do it?"

"As far as I'm aware, he chickened out," Roxanne replied, leaning across Hugo to talk to Rose, Albus, and Lily. "But I think his plan was to do it today."

"But he's going to be hanging out with us," Hugo pointed out. "How's he gonna do it?"

"It's James," Lily said dismissively, waving her hand. "He'll figure something out."

No one had anything to say to this until Molly slid into the seat across from them, her head down and her red hair a tangled mess.

"What happened?" Lucy demanded instantly, placing an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"My stupid boyfriend," she muttered. Albus instantly got up and left, sensing that this was a girl problem.

"What'd he do, Mol?" Roxanne asked, narrowing her eyes at the Hufflepuff table, where Lorcan Scamander's blond head was drooping over a bowl of porridge.

"I told you, Rose," Molly said, wiping her eyes. "He doesn't want to go to Hogsmeade today, he wants to stay here with me. I told him I was going anyway, like you said to, and he blew up at me! We...we had a really bad fight," she summed up, her eyes pooling with tears again.

"Oh, Molly, I'm so sorry," Rose said, aghast. "If I'd known he would react like this I never would have told you to do that!"

Molly just burst into tears again, crying on Lucy's shoulder.

"Go get Dom," Rose whispered to Roxanne, who got up and fairly sprinted across the Hall. When the two Weasleys returned, Roxanne sat a little farther away from Molly. Roxanne was never one for tears.

"Tell me," Dom said, holding out her arms to Molly, who was so upset she couldn't talk. So Rose explained instead. When she was done, Dominique furrowed her brow and simply held Molly for a little while longer, thinking it over.

"We're going anyway," she declared. "Screw Lorcan. We need to show him that you are perfectly fine on your own, too. If he picks up on the message, great."

"If not?" Molly asked, peeking at the table, her mascara running.

"If not...then, well, he's not worth it, Mol," Dominique said kindly. "Come on, let's go to the loo and clean you up a bit."

The two cousins left the hall fairly quickly.

"What's the matter with Mol?" Hugo asked, leaning over to Rose, Lucy, and Roxanne.

"Nothing," Rose replied loftily.

"So she comes in sobbing to breakfast every morning?" Louis asked, appearing behind Roxanne and startling her so much she dropped the marmalade. "Sorry, Roxy. But seriously, Rose, what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing," Lucy replied. "She's fine."

"And I'm the queen of England," Fred muttered, but he wisely dropped it after Lucy gave him a rare death glare. The subdued cousins ate in silence until finally, the headmistress announced that they could go to Hogsmeade.

James, Albus, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Louis, Lucy, Fred, and Roxanne all spilled out of the Great Hall, craning their necks, looking for Molly and Dominique.

"There!" Lily shouted, and they all hurried over to the two girls. Molly, Rose noted, looked much better - her hair was combed, her face appeared to have been washed, and her eyes were no longer red.

"Hey guys!" Dominique said brightly. "Ready to go?"

They made their way towards the front of the entrance hall, where the caretaker, Argus Filch, was waiting to check them off a list. The Weasley-Potters got by with no problems, and soon they were out on the lane to Hogsmeade, surrounded by chattering classmates with the autumn wind swirling around them. Soon enough, the group was able to lift Molly out of her bad mood and they were all talking and laughing.

"So, where to first?" James asked once they got into town. "Three Broomsticks?"

"No, let's go there last, that way we can warm up a bit before heading back to Hogwarts," Lucy said. "Let's go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes first."

And so they did. After Roxanne started going to Hogwarts, George had finally bought the old Zonko's shop in Hogsmeade as an extension of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He claimed it was best for business matters, but the cousins all knew it was just so he could see them on the weekends (and report back to their parents).

"Hey, there's my favorite group of kids!" George Weasley exclaimed as they hurried into the shop. "Molly, Percy wanted me to tell you he's not going to be able to make it today. Something happened at the office, according to him." George rolled his eyes. "But anyway, thank Merlin you're all still alive! Grandmum Weasley's been worrying they'll torture you guys in detention. I kept telling her Fred and I survived years of it and we turned out fine, but you know how she is," he said, winking at them all. "So, what can I do for you today?"

"I think we all need a little of everything," Lily said. "That stupid prank war ran us all down on your stuff."

"A prank war is a noble cause to run out of our stuff," George deadpanned, and everyone laughed. "So, let's see...how about a couple Back-to-School packs for everybody? Half off."

"Whoa!"

"Seriously?"

"No way!"

"Cool!"

"Thanks, Uncle George!"

"No problem," he replied. "From what I hear, you got Draco Malfoy's git of a son pretty well. I, for one, thought it was brilliant. I think most of the dads did, but of course all of your mothers were furious, so we just played along. That's a Galleon and sixteen Sickles for each of you, by the way."

As the cousins rummaged around for their gold, George loaded all the packs into a giant bag and handed it to Fred.

"Why do I have to carry it?" he grumbled.

"Because you're my son," George replied. "And you happened to be the closest person to me at the time."

"Dad..."

"If you really don't want to carry it, leave it behind the counter here, but don't forget to come back for it. I have a feeling you wouldn't like how I'd deliver it to you," he said, smiling devilishly. Everyone shuddered at that, remembering the last time that had happened, and promised not to forget it.

"I am assigning Rose to remember to get that bag right now," Albus said as they walked out of the shop.

"Why me?" Rose demanded.

"Because you're the most responsible, and the one least likely to forget," he replied. Rose, although she didn't want to be the one who had to remember, couldn't deny the compliment and accepted with good graces.

"But don't forget it was Albus who decided to appoint me," she warned her cousins as they entered Honeydukes.

The cousins spent the rest of the day wandering about, eating various sweets from their bulging Honeydukes bags, talking, and laughing. Rose couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.

Towards sunset, the lot of them decided they wanted to split up. Molly, Lucy, and Dominique needed to go to Gladrag's Wizardwear; Lily, Albus, and Roxanne needed to go to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop; and James, Fred, Louis, and Hugo were to go pick up the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes merchandise before heading over to Spintwitches. Rose, however, wanted to go down to see the Shrieking Shack, and no one was willing to go with her. They agreed to meet up at the Three Broomsticks in an hour, then Rose set off alone, drawn to the old shack by an urge she couldn't define.

Her father had always told such excellent stories about the Shrieking Shack, and she'd always been strangely intrigued by the building that had played such a crucial part in the Second Wizarding War, and by the single grave that lay there. Only once had she gone in to see the name on the grave, and it had been one she recognized: _Severus Snape_. Her family didn't say much about him, but while Uncle Harry had always insisted that he was "the bravest man I ever knew", Rose had once caught her father telling her mother that Snape "was a git and always would be". Rose wished she had known the man so that she could pass her own judgement, but unfortunately, she had not.

But today, she simply wanted to go see the building, not the grave. She hadn't been to see it yet this year and it was high time she did go. It didn't bother her that she was going alone; she had never once encountered another living soul while down there.

So one can imagine her surprise when she saw another figure down in the valley, one with blond hair that glinted in the sunlight. Rose froze in shock when she realized who it was. She debating turning back, but reflected that this would be an excellent time to apologize, and so, with a slightly nervous tremble in her stomach, Rose set off down the hill towards Scorpius Malfoy.

"Hey," she said cautiously once she got to the bottom of the hill. He jumped, then turned.

"Hi," he said, turning back away as a familiar scowl darkened his expression. Rose sighed. So this wasn't going to be easy.

"Nice place down here, don't you think?" she asked casually. "The sunset looks gorgeous." Indeed it did, with the streaks of gold and red and pink burning against a purple background.

He grunted in reply.

"Um, have you finished the assignment for Professor Slughorn that's due Monday?" she asked, shifting her weight.

"Why do you care?" he grumbled. "I'm just _Malfoy_ to you, remember?"

Rose winced. "Look, Scorpius, about that, I'm-"

"Oh, so you've come to apologize, huh? Well, I don't accept."

"Why not?" she asked, bewildered. "I rarely, if ever, apologize to you."

"Because that hurt, Rose," he snapped.

"Oh, and you snubbing me doesn't?" she retaliated.

"It's different," he snapped back.

"How?" she demanded. "Unlike you, I'm actually trying to be civil, or at least I was, whereas you have simply decided to treat me as nothing more than a piece of dirt."

"That's how we've treated each other for going on five years, Rose, why is this any different?"

"Because...because...because we...because I actually got to know you this year, and I think you're kind of nice!"

"Oh yeah? Well I - wait, what?"

"You heard me," Rose snapped, turning away to hide her blush. She couldn't believe she'd actually said that. It had been so embarrassing -

"I think you're nice, too," he said, so softly she almost didn't hear him.

"Are you being serious?" she asked, turning around to see him. He tried to smirk, but the faint pink on his cheeks gave him away.

"No, Rose. I've decided to make up the most ridiculous lies imaginable. For example, the sky will become an egg-yolk yellow tomorrow. And your cousin James shall speak only in squawks like a chicken for ten days. And -"

"Scorpius!" Rose exclaimed amidst her giggles. "I was being serious."

"So was I. The sky really will turn yellow tomorrow."

She hit him gently on the arm. "Come on, Scorpion."

Scorpius looked her full in the eye then, and Rose knew he'd sensed the subtle change in that nickname: instead of being rude, insulting, this time around it had been in a more companionable way, almost in the way that friends would call each other by. His grey eyes were burning with curiosity as to the change, and Rose couldn't even tell herself why she'd spoken differently.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and took a small step back. He was just so _close._

"Well, actually, Scorpius, I am sorry about what I said. I was...confused, and angry, but it really wasn't acceptable for me to lash out that way."

He smiled. "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry, too, by the way. For ignoring you for all those weeks, and for the hug."

Rose smiled, but deep inside, something tugged at her. Did she really want him to apologize for the hug? Yes, of course she did. Right?

"Rose?"

"Huh?" she asked, jerking herself out of her thoughts. "I mean, sorry, Scorpius, what did you say?"

"I said, do you think we could call a truce? Again? I'm tired of arguing all the time."

"I - yes, I think we could," Rose replied casually, hiding her shock and happiness at the idea.

"Oh, OK, great," he said, exhaling in a whoosh. "I thought you were going to kill me."

"Well, that would be going against the truce now, wouldn't it?" she teased, and he laughed.

"So...friends?" Rose asked, holding out her hand.

Scorpius' gray eyes met her own as he shook her hand.

"Friends."

**Friends...for now. But we'll just have to see how it goes for the two of them as "friends", won't we? :P Anyways, please review!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello! I've received such wonderful reviews on this story recently that I thought I'd update it for you! I don't actually really like this chapter, but I kind of thought some scenes were necessary for relationship development (hopefully that will make more sense at the end). Anyways, thanks again for the awesome reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. JK Rowling doesn't wanna give up the rights**

**Chapter 16: Starting Afresh**

After that Friday, things changed drastically inside Hogwarts Castle. Instead of routine arguments and screaming matches from two certain people, there were now friendly exchanges and willing partnership in classes. And nobody knew what to think.

The Slytherins honestly didn't give a crap (or so they claimed), the Hufflepuffs thought it was cute (and had a bet going as to when Rose and Scorpius would be an official couple), the Ravenclaws actually didn't care (the fact that Rose was in the tower more had boosted several of their grades), and the Gryffindors were in a full-out panic (and nobody was quite sure why). The teachers were more grateful to have peaceful (if less eventful) classes.

Rose's cousins weren't really sure what to think. Dominique wouldn't say anything on the subject, but could be found surveying Rose and Scorpius with a small smile on her lips as they walked down the hall. Louis was just waiting for them to officially get together. Molly and Lucy both sided with Louis. Fred and Roxanne both thought the entire thing was disgusting, Fred insisting that the two were natural enemies and betting that the "friendship" wouldn't last for more than a month, whereas Roxanne couldn't understand "why anyone would want to bother with all that romance crap anyway". Hugo was disgusted. James was concerned that Rose would "let her focus shift" (as he put it) from Quidditch to...other things. Albus was happy for them, and that was that, and Lily just wanted to know how it would all play out.

Rose and Scorpius themselves, however, were perfectly happy at the time. They were finding that they were actually quite alike in their views on the world, but completely different when it came to interests and hobbies. In addition to blue, forests, dogs, and the Wizard of Oz, Rose learned that Scorpius liked Muggle books, broomsticks, broccoli, chess, and plants. In turn, Scorpius learned that Rose liked rain, history books, cherries, chess, and spellwork; as well as purple, dolphins, and roses . The discovery that both of them liked chess lead to several long nights in Ravenclaw tower that once ended with Scorpius falling asleep right on the board.

The biggest difference, though, was the fact that Rose and Scorpius' detentions were now full of laughter instead of bickering, and no longer a punishment.

It was October 28, and Rose and Scorpius had been assigned to reorganize the books in the Herbology section of the library. Madame Pince had had a headache, and as a result the two of them were alone in the library.

"So, sixteen now, huh?" Scorpius asked, looking over at Rose, who was sorting a pile of books.

"What?" she asked absentmindedly.

"You turned sixteen last week, didn't you?" Scorpius asked. Rose nodded.

"So did Molly," she said, handing him a stack of books. "We're the closest of the cousins; only five days apart."

"Wow," Scorpius muttered. "That's cool. Do you like being sixteen?"

For whatever reason, that was the question that caught Rose's attention the most.

"It doesn't really feel any different," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, every year I tell myself that I've gotten older, but I never really feel like it. Sixteen always seemed so old to me before, but now that I'm actually sixteen, I just feel so young."

Scorpius stared at her. "The Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor because..."

Rose laughed. "I don't know. I mean, I'm smart, but I didn't want to be in Ravenclaw...there must have been some part of me that the Hat felt was more Gryffindor than Ravenclaw."

"I guess," Scorpius said. "Don't know what that part is, though."

"I don't, either," Rose confessed. "Darren always said...never mind," she cut herself off, turning away from Scorpius.

"I still can't believe you dated that git," Scorpius said. "Did he say mean stuff to you when he was your boyfriend, too?"

"No," Rose admitted. "He always used to try to make 'suggestions'. To wear my hair a different way, to put on makeup. All sorts of just little things that added up to him being an over controlling ass."

"That's rich," Scorpius muttered. "He could do with some improvements himself."

Rose snorted in agreement. Silence fell between them for awhile as they continued to sort books. Then, as Rose was getting up to go put a book away, she used the "hidden Gryffindor" side of her and asked Scorpius the question that had often been on her mind.

"So how about you? Have you had any other girlfriends?"

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted. "Two."

"Two?" Rose asked, surprise coloring her voice.

"Why so surprised, Weaselbee?" he asked, trying not to snap at her.

"No reason," she replied nonchalantly, turning away to put more books in the bookshelf.

"There has to be some reason," Scorpius snapped, getting to his feet. "Been listening to the rumors about me, have you?"

"No."

"Yes you have. I know what they say. They say I'm such a prick, sleeping with a different girl each week. They say I only want to sleep with them, that it's my goal to sleep with each girl in Hogwarts before I leave. Well, guess what? They're WRONG!" he bellowed, slamming a fist against the bookshelf and causing an avalanche of books. "They don't know me! They don't have any right to judge me! I'm nothing, NOTHING like my father!"

"Scorpius!" Rose said, stopping his hand before he could hit the bookshelf again. "I know you're not! You've made that quite clear! I _don't_ listen to the rumors about you, and as a matter of fact I find them ridiculous and shallow. Now please, stop, you're making a mess."

It was true. All their handiwork from the past two hours was lying all over the floor. No doubt it would take just as long to put it all back.

Scorpius swore, lowering his hand. "I'm sorry, Rose."

"It's quite alright, Scorpius. I know what it's like to have rumors spread all over the school about you," she said, her tone stiff.

"Yeah, I heard those," he said. "Didn't believe them, though."

"You'd be the first person outside my family," Rose replied, picking up the books and starting to return them to their slots. Scorpius helped her, and for nearly an hour, they worked in silence, until Rose got the courage to ask her question again.

"So, who were they?" she asked. Scorpius sighed.

"Riley McGuire and Alyssa McGhee," he admitted. "And they were both horrible."

"Really? I know Alyssa, she's nice."

Scorpius snorted. "Yeah, that's what she likes you to think. You good friends with her or not?"

"No, I've only spoken to her a couple times in Astronomy," Rose replied.

"See, that's why. As soon as you get close to her, she's whiny and clingy and doesn't want you out of her sight. She's a right bitch if you decide you need to work on your homework, too, because all she wants to do is snog," Scorpius said. "I don't think we lasted more than a month and a half."

"And Riley?" Rose asked, careful to keep her back to him.

"Boring. Boring as watching paint dry. I mean, she's pretty, don't get me wrong, but she's not even interesting at all. Unless you're willing to sit and have your nails painted - repeatedly."

Rose let out a sort of half-laugh and didn't reply. For a long time, they worked in silence, sorting and shelving the books they loved.

"Hey, Rose," Scorpius said cautiously.

"Mhmm?"

"I, um...I read 'Pride and Prejudice'," he admitted. "And...I liked it."

Rose dropped the load of books she was holding. "_What?_"

"What's going on here?" came a dry, wheezy voice behind them. They both whirled to see Argus Filch standing there with a lamp in his hand, watching them suspiciously. "Aren't you done yet?"

"Yes, we are," Rose said hurriedly. "I was just putting these last few away." She quickly gathered the books she'd dropped on the floor and put them away in their proper places, then she and Scorpius stood back and let Filch examine their work.

"Looks good," he snarled after examining the shelves intently for several minutes. "You may go."

The two fifth years nodded and quickly hurried out of the library and into the corridors.

"I hate it when he does that," Rose said. "I'm always sure he's going to find a mistake and we're going to have to do it all over again."

"Me too," Scorpius admitted.

"What were you saying about 'Pride and Prejudice'?" Rose asked.

"Nothing," Scorpius said a little too quickly. He didn't often blush, but his cheeks turned a faint pink.

"It was not _nothing_," Rose insisted. "You said you liked it, didn't you?"

Scorpius didn't respond

"_Didn't_ you?"

Still no response.

"Scorpius..."

"Fine! Yes, I kind of liked it!" he replied, deliberately staring at the wall in front of them and not at her.

"I'm glad," Rose said simply. "Jane Austen is rather unappreciated in the Wizarding World. Only Molly and Dom have read any of her works, and it does get rather boring only having the two of them to discuss her with."

"Don't you have any Muggle friends?"

Rose shook her head. "I used to, up until fifth grade. Mum and Dad sent me to public school rather than homeschooling me, and I was good friends with most of the girls in my class. But then, of course, I started Hogwarts and I haven't seen them much since."

"Oh. Well, I wouldn't mind discussing it with you..."

"Really? Oh, good. Now, do you think the way women were treated in the book reflected the society of the time? I've studied Muggle history, and I think..."

Rose was off, discussing everything from societal influence to the way the romance developed between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. Scorpius, with a fairly limited knowledge of Muggle history and impacts of literature, did his best to keep up, but in the end, Rose eventually gave up.

"Well, I guess you'd have to have the years of background knowledge I do to really understand it," she sighed.

"Yeah," Scorpius replied, his head spinning. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then..."

"See you tomorrow," Rose said, waving at him as they reached the base of Ravenclaw Tower. Scorpius smiled at her, his gaze lingering on her face a little longer than necessary. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, but before she could react in any way, Scorpius had turned and disappeared up the winding staircase, leaving Rose with much to think about.

**How's that? OK? Well, hopefully it's acceptable at least. I've written almost four pages of nothing but fluff for the next chapter, and I'm trying to decide to post that or write something perhaps more substantial. But anyways, please review and tell me what you think!**

**Lovelovelove -D-**


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